Contagion
by CocoCaffeine
Summary: Marriage-(n) The nuptial noose tightening around Yaruki's neck; but when her marksmanship in the defense of her home and village convinces the bloody mercenary Bankotsu to take her in to his forming group, Yaruki must fight to keep her morals strong and her aim true or risk becoming the blood thirsty monster she...hates? Bankotsu X OC; one sided OC X OC;
1. Chapter 1

_Prologue_

Bankotsu stared at the glimmering shards the man named Naraku gave him. ' _The power to rise from the dead. Strength beyond compare'_. He gently touches the one embedded in his throat. Counting it, there were only seven…one short. He looks around the vast nothingness seeing the bones and armor of his soon to be alive again comrades, and notices that one was not in the count.

He stands, his legs shaky from little use and his loose hair falls in front of his shoulder. He needed to find her. His eyes strain to catch any glimpse or hint of where she might be. Her screams echo in his mind as he remembers those traitorous bastards dragging her away from the rest of them in to the bushes.

She called for him. She screamed for him. She fought as hard as she could.

But against five men.

His muscles tense at the memory. How he struggled to get free. To get to her.

Eventually her screams stopped, and the silence was more deafening. More horrifying.

He stops in front of the broken arrow. A piece of dark fabric hanging loosely from it.

A smile begins to spread across his lips. Not at the idea of finally finding her, but at the idea of resurrecting her.

 _Hell will truly have no fury._

* * *

++++++Chapter 1+++++++

"I think it's cute and romantic."

I roll my eyes at Kiku's naivety and sigh, "Then you marry him."

"I would if Shinjou would ask me, but he only has eyes for you."

I adjust the fire wood into a more comfortable position under my arm as we continue towards the village. I hear the sound of footsteps behind us, and I shift to let the other travelers by. "I have no interest in marriage."

"And that's why you're going to end up an old spinster."

I purposefully run Kiku off the road, and she laughs.

I look over to see the other travelers pass by. They are two men. One in a yellow Kimono with one side hiked up exposing his leg. He wears a red belt and has his jet black hair in an up do. I narrow my eyes a bit unsure if it was the light or if he actually has on red lipstick. My eyes shift to the sword on his back, but I could not make out the type of blade it was. I make a mental note to ask father before turning my gaze to his companion.

He is shorter, but not by much, and he looks around my age, if not a year older. He wears white himakas with a matching top. His grey with blue print armor covers his torso and waist and a red sash holds it all together. Traditional ninja shoes cover his feet, and his jet black hair travels down in back in a large braid. My eyes, gazing upon the large halberd resting on his shoulder, widened in astonishment at how one man manages to carry it with such ease.

My violet eyes lock with his cobalt blues for a moment as he passes by, and a quick smirk flashes on his lips. Kiku's smile fades as she moves further off the road to make room for them. I clutch my bow tighter as I calculate how quickly I can strike one with an arrow before the other reacts if anything were to happen, but a 'Hello ladies' is all the shorter one said as he and his companion pass by.

It was when they were out of earshot that we released our held breaths.

"Father told us to be careful on these roads. I knew Toshi should have come with us."

"Calm down, Kiku. We're fine. Plus, if they were to have done anything, I would have shot the taller one first since it would have taken the shorter one longer to ready that large halberd."

Kiku nods,"Still…..they were scary looking. Do you think they are samurai?"

"I don't think any samurai would be caught dead dressed the way that tall one was."

Kiku giggles, "I swear I thought he was a woman at first."

We both laugh in a meager attempt to ease our apprehensions, but deep in the pit of my stomach, I could not shake the uneasy feeling. I shook my head slightly.

Nothing good could possible come from those two.

* * *

Kiku and I part ways upon entering the village and a small groan escapes me as I see Shinjou and my father talking outside of his shop. I approach silently catching the tail end of the conversation.

"Well, I don't see why not." My father lifts a blade to examine it, "You seem to have a good head on your shoulders, but the real questions is can you handle Yaruki? She's got her mother's…..well…everything."

"I come home to find my own father speaking ill of me behind my back." I let out a fake sob as I throw my arm against my face dramatically. "Is there truly no one in this world I can trust?"

He chuckles softly, "No ill will was meant behind this conversation, dear. Shinjou and I were simply discussing important matters."

I raise an eyebrow, "Oh? And what matters would those be?"

My father finishes polishing the sword and heads back in to the house, leaving me with my question.

"Um…Yaruki?"

I turn and smile at Shinjou . He wasn't a bad looking guy. In fact, he was quiet handsome. Tall, Dark brown eyes, black hair that stopped at his shoulder when down. Lean bodied, intelligent, polite, hard-working, honorable; practically everything a girl could ask for in a husband. I don't doubt I would be happy with him. We would have handsome babies, a solid house, extra money for frivolous buys. Overall, I'd be set…..if I said yes.

"I just got your father's permission for your hand."

 _Damn!_ Father was literally my last line of defense. My smile falters slightly, but luckily Shinjou was not looking in my direction.

"Well, that certainly is something to celebrate. My father is not an easy man to impress."

Shinjou kindly takes the firewood from me was we walk though my father's shop and in to the kitchen. I set my bow and quiver on the table and begin to stoke the fire for dinner.

Shinjou chuckles as he hands me some wood, "Yes, but it wasn't your father's answer I am nervous about."

"Oh." I mutter softly as I nurse the tiny ember with my breath.

Shinjou squats down next to me, and I keep my attention on the flame.

"Yaruki….I want you to be my wife."

My face stays blank out of fear that a forced smile may mislead him. The warmth of the large fire spreads cross my face and through my body as I chew on my lower lip. "Shinjou …I…..we…It's sweet….sweet of you to offer…but…." I look to the wall directly behind him. "I just don't think I'm ready to marry yet. There's still so much that I want to do."

To my disappointment, he smiles. "You can still do those things. We'll just do them together. We don't have to stay here. We can go anywhere, do anything. I don't care, as long as I am with you."

This last statement churns my stomach and I stand with my back to him. I was never one to fall for those sappy declarations of love, and the idea of having Shinjou following me everywhere I go felt like a noose slowly tightening around my neck. The room suddenly felt stuffy and it was becoming very difficult to breathe.

"Here, why don't I give some time to think it over; there's no rush."

I close my eyes trying to steady my racing heart and I nod. "Thank you. I would really appreciate that." I feel him place a small kiss on the back of my head and leave. The crackling fire fills the ghost-quiet room as I remain standing rattling through one lame excuse after another in a hopeless attempt to save my freedom.

* * *

"Traitor." I grumble as I bite down on the small fish between my chop sticks. Father sighs as he leans back letting the meal settle.

"I'm not a traitor. I just see no harm in you marrying Shinjou . He's a good man, which are rare now a days, and with him around I'll have someone who can run my shop when I'm dead."

"I can run your shop! Probably better than most of the apprentices here and in the next village over."

"I'm not saying you're not good enough, Yaruki, but think about it. What warrior would want a woman working on his sword? They'll come in and ask if your husband is home because they'll think he left you to man the kelm. When you tell them you're the Smith, they'll take their business elsewhere."

"Then I'll tell them he'll be back soon."

"And what would you do if they decide to wait?"

I fall silent, defeated and Father leans forward, "Exactly."

I place my chopsticks down, slowly losing my appetite. "Then I'll become a hired hand like you were."

"I taught you enough to protect yourself, not someone else."

"What's the difference?"

"There is a great difference. You can trust yourself. You can't always trust your employer. They may set you up to die just so they have time to get away. They may tell you that you are facing three men, and you get there only to discover it is an army. Besides, your skill lies more with a bow and arrow rather than a sword, and that will not benefit you greatly in battle."

"So then what do you want me to do?!"

"I want you to marry Shinjou."

I roll my eyes, and he gives off a low growl.

"Is it really that bad?! Can you honestly look me in the eyes and tell me you'd be truly miserable as his wife?"

I cross my arms.

"Well?"

I glare at my food.

"Answer Me!"

"NO!" I snap unleashing my glare at him. "I won't be miserable."

"Then it's settled."

He goes back to eating, and I prop my elbows on the table hiding the lower portion of my face behind my hands.

 _Fucking old man and his stupid fucking logic._

"YO! Blacksmith, you home? Got a job for you."

I glance over at the window. "It's pitch black outside. Can't this idiot tell we're closed?"

Father stands and walks through the curtain and into his shop.

"How can I help you, Sir?"

I slip out of my chair and peek through the curtain. I freeze seeing the man that passed Kiku and I on the road standing in front of my father. His large halberd still resting on his shoulder.

"I was wondering if you can sharpen my companion up for me. It's getting a bit dull."

"I'll be more than happy to do it tomorrow. First thing even."

"Naw, I need it done tonight. I've got a job to get to."

I push the curtain back and step in to the shop. "Than you should have come earlier," I snapped. "We're closed now."

The man looks over at me, and his eyes widen slightly. "Heeeyyy! You're that cute girl we passed by on the road."

I take a defensive step back as he approaches me and examines my face.

"So she's your daughter, huh?"

"Aye, she is. Now about your order?"

I glare at him as he continues to look me over as if trying to decide something.

"You're really not that bad looking. How old are you?"

"None of your damn business."

"Feisty too, I like that."

"Get out," I threaten.

"I can't, not until I get my companion sharpened."

"I won't be able to do it now, Sir," My father says flatly as he steps between us. "Tomorrow is the only option."

The tanned man sighs as he crosses his arms over his chest, "Geez that really sucks. Guess I'll have to find some other way to sharpen it, huh?"

"Damn right."

My father snaps his fingers as a warning, and I shut my mouth, but the man looks at me, and I could tell something about his demeanor changed.

A thunderous crash comes from outside and the shrill screams of the villagers pierce the cold night air. I run in to the kitchen towards the window and see the village on fire. I step back stunned before I hear the sharp clang of metal against metal. I snatch up my quiver and bow and run back to the shop.

The two swords screech and scrap against each other as each man applied more of his weight behind it. I ready my bow and aim it directly at the tanned man's eye.

"Yaruki, run!"

"I can hit him."

The tanned man glances over at me before smiling at my father, "Don't worry, blacksmith. I'll take good care of your daughter."

My arrow flies free. The tanned man jumps back pushing my father in the process, and the arrow embeds itself our wall. Father uses this opportunity to run towards me and shoves me through the curtain.

I fall hard on my bottom, my bow sliding out of my hand and towards the back door. I look up in time to see the tanned man's halberd slice clean through my father, starting at his right shoulder and ending at his left hip.

"R….r-run….y-yar…"

Blood splatters across my face as he collapses in two pieces before me.

"It's not wise to turn you back on your opponent in a fight."

My body trembles as I watch the tanned man step over the two halves of my father. His face held a bored expression as his cold eyes lock with mine. I glance to where my bow lay, and he follows my gaze. A sadistic grin finds its way to his lips as he squats down in front of me.

"Do you think you're fast enough to get to it before my blade rips you in two?"

I glare at him, and my foot rockets into his face knocking him off balance. I scramble to my feet and stumble through the back door snatching my bow up in the process. The air escapes my lungs as I look at the sheer destruction of my village. Someone grabs hold of my arm, and I scream snatching an arrow from my quiver and slamming it down into the person's temple.

Kiku screams, and I fall back stunned.

Blood coated her face and body and one of her legs was missing.

"No….no…no..Kiku! NO!" I stare at my friend sprawled on the ground with my arrow embedded in her skull. I quickly walk up to her and pull the arrow out. "I'm sorry," I whimper. "I'm sorry."

"You know that wasn't very nice." I step back seeing the tanned man approach me. A look of irritation on his face as he rubs his nose, "That really hurt."

I load Kiku's arrow in my bow, but I couldn't keep my hands steady. "I'll shoot you." I whisper as he takes a step forward.

"Then do it."

I release the arrow, and he tilts his head to the side narrowly missing it. He chuckles, "Even scared, your aim is still pretty impressive."

I ready another arrow as I being moving backwards. "Leave me alone."

"But you hit me. You don't really think I'll just let that slide do you?" he swings his halberd around before spinning it over his head and bringing it down towards me. I scream moving out of the way as the blade strikes the ground.

I make a bee line for the forest. If I could get some distance between us….if I could find a high hiding spot…. Then I'd have the upper hand.

* * *

I jump over roots and slap back branches from my face finally stopping at a clearing. I scan the trees before finding one that looks solid, but not noticeable, and climb up. I hide myself in the leaves and try to catch my breath. Including the one in my hands, I have three arrows left, but there were only two of them. As long as I didn't miss, I would be fine. My stomach churns as the fresh memory of my father makes its way to the front of my mind. I push it back along with the vomit. Now is not the time.

I suck in some air sharply as the tanned man and his companion appeared in the clearing.

"Are you sure she's here, Big Brother?" The tanned man nods as he examines each tree.

"Her trail ends here. She's probably in the trees, but be careful. She's surprisingly good with that bow."

The taller man nods before lifting his sword. Fear tightens its grip on my throat as I watch his blade slither and twist around the trees slicing through them with ease. I push back the fear rising within me as I try to drown out the cracking, popping, and thudding wood. I ready my first arrow. My trembling hands try to follow the tall one's erratic movements, and I let out a deep breath to calm my nerves before releasing.

The tall one screams as his sword drops from his hand. He grips his shoulder were the arrow planted itself, and a string of profanities escape him as he snatches the arrow out.

 _Damn it, Yaruki! Focus!_ I ready my second arrow, and I falter as I see the tanned man take a few steps closer to where I am.

"Use those next two arrows wisely, Yaruki."

My finger slips, but I manage to catch the arrow before it dropped.

How did he know my name?

The sound of trees falling snaps my eyes away from him and to his partner who was attacking the trees with renew vigor. I steady my hands and aim the arrow at the tan man's face.

I could not afford to miss this time. I release, and he dodges it with ease.

"Found you." He lifts his mighty halberd and cuts through my tree.

I jump out and land on my feet, stumbling backwards a bit until I feel my back slam against another tree. I snatch my final arrow out of the quiver and load it on to my bow. The two men stood a few feet away from me, and I carefully moved the arrow head from one to the other.

The tanned man steps forwards. I lock my arrow on to him.

"You know, I was going to keep you alive for a couple of days, or until I got bored with you, but I just can't help but be impressed. You've got quite the aim for a girl. Being able to hit moving target from a tree in the dark in not an easy thing to do, so I'm going to make a deal with you."

He pierces the earth with his halberd and takes another step forward. "I want you to join my group. I mean it's only us right now, but there will be more, and we could use a sharp shooter like you."

"And if I say go fuck yourself?"

"Then my friend here will slice you in to pieces with his sword." He casually remarks.

My eyes flick over to the taller man whose eyes narrowed in to slits and was gripping the hilt of his sword so tight that his knuckles were white. I look back at the tanned man whose arms crossed over his chest.

"Your choice, Yaruki. Join us or be reunited with your father in the afterlife.

I line the arrow up with his eye. "Don't ever speak about my father," I hiss.

"I don't have all night." His blasé manner made my rage falter.

How many lives had this man taken to be so…numb.

I looked between the two of them, but kept my arrow trained on the tanned one. Who was I kidding? He had dodge my previous arrows, and he would surly dodge this one, and the tall one's sword was so erratic that as soon as I shot at the tanned one, I would be cut in half before it hit its mark, assuming that it ever would.

I couldn't kill them with my arrows, at least not with one of them anyway, but could I even kill them at all? He took out my father with one strike. But my father's back was turned; it was a coward's kill.

I glare that the tanned man, "You're a coward."

"WATCH YOUR TOUNGE YOU FILTHY WRETCH!"

The tanned one smiles, "How so?"

"You killed my father when his back was turned."

"That was your father's stupidity."

"It was a coward's move, and you know it. He would have killed you easily if you'd fought him honorably."

"Tch, your father was probably a worthless old man."

"SHUT UP!" I scream firing my arrow at the tall one's chest. The tanned one catches it, but holds it in the air inches away from the tall one's heart. If he had just let it fly; if he had just been a second slower, the tall one would be dead.

"You almost shot me AGAIN, you little-"

The tanned one takes a step forward cutting off his friend's lunge, "Your father trained you didn't he?"

I grip my bow with both hands cursing myself for losing my only line of defense. "Just kill me and get it over with already." I snarl glaring at the ground.

"Really? Before we even test your theory out?"

I look up at him confused, "Theory?"

"You said your father was stronger than me. I want to test that out."

I clench my teeth from annoyance and rage, "You already kill him, you asshole! How the hell can you test that theory?"

"Well you are his daughter aren't you? Fight me in place of your dad."

I stare at him dumbfounded, "I….mhh," I look away. "…I'm not my father."

"You mean you're not as strong as your father? I can fix that."

I look back at him.

"Hell, I'll even train ya if you want me to."

I glance over to his friend to see if this was some sort of a joke, but his face was just as stunned as mine, "Y-you…..you would….train….what?!"

"Sure, I'd help you get strong and then we can fight, just to prove to you that your dad wasn't as great and powerful as you think. He already taught you how to shoot. All you need is a little hand to hand training, and you'll be ready."

I look between the two men working every possible scenario in my head. If I said yes, then I would be a traitor to my village and, more importantly, to my father. But if I said no...

An image of the great halberd slicing my father in half plays before my eyes and my grip relaxes on my bow. "…..Fine."

The adrenaline bleeds out of my body through that one little word, and I fall to my knees; exhaustion and depression finally having the chance to settle in to my soul. The tall man walks up to me and lifts my chin.

His punch connects hard with my jaw, and I feel my teeth rattle in my mouth as I collapse to the ground. "How dare you strike me with that arrow, you wench!"

A series of quick hard kicks to my abdomen follow before he ends it all off with a hard stomp on my head. My body quivered as I remained where I was no longer having the energy to fight. I hear footsteps approach me, and my body tenses waiting for another assault.

Instead, I feel to hand gently lift me up by my arm. I stare in to the blank cobalt eyes of the tanned man as he waits for me to steady myself on my own two feet before letting me go.

He points to the tall man, "That's Jakotsu. And I am Bankotsu. We are mercenaries hired by the Lord of this land to wipe your village out." He looked as if he were suddenly uncomfortable as he scratched the back of his head and crossed his arms. "Don't bother asking why 'cause I don't know. I'm just doing what I am paid to do." He falls silent as if waiting for something, but seeing no reaction from me he grabs his halberd. "Alright, let's go."

They begin their walk back to the village, but Bankotsu stops seeing that I was not following. I glare hard at the bow clutched in my hand, and despite myself warm tears begin spilling down my cheeks. I quickly wipe the tears away with the edge of my sleeve as Bankotsu approaches.

"Hey, look, if it makes you feel any better, I'll allow you to kill the Lord if you want. I mean, that's after we get paid of course."

I glare at Bankostu through my tears,"I do not need your permission to do something I've already planned on doing."

A smile plays on Bankotsu' lips as I wipe the remaining tears off my face.

"And just because you were simply doing a job, does not excuse you from my wrath."

"Ooooh, ho ho!? Your wrath, huh?"

I push past him ignoring his mocking tone and limp my way through the forest.

They would all pay…one way or another.


	2. Chapter 2

**WARNING: SOME SEXUAL SUGGESTIVE THEMES ARE FOUND WITHIN THIS CHAPTER AND SOME GORE. READER DISCRETION ADVISED.**

* * *

++++++Chapter 2+++++++

The blood red of dawn greets us as we make our way to the home of the Lord who massacred my village. My feet and body ache from the nonstop walking and from Jakotsu's previous beating. My head throbs from the growing light, and my eyes are heavy with exhaustion.

"Let's go, woman!" Jakotsu snaps glancing behind him.

I glare at him, "Well excuse me for not having the freak stamina that you two possess to be able to walk through the whole night unfazed, but I am tired, and this is as fast as I'm going to get."

Jakotsu stops and turns, "Did ask for your life story? No, I said move it!"

"Fuck. You. Girly-Man."

Jakotsu unsheathes his sword, and I tighten the grip on my bow unsure of what damage I could do, but willing to try anything.

"Stop!" Bankotsu says annoyed from our constant off and on bickering. He looks at me and snaps his fingers before pointing to the spot next to him.

I glare and point my bow at him as if it were a sword, "I am NOT a dog for you to order around."

He lowers his halberd and folds his arms across his chest not bothering to hide the amuse look on his face, "Oh, and what are you going to with that? Pluck me to death?"

My eye twitches, "No….but I could strangle you with it."

He chuckles, "Oh really?!" He begins to walk towards me, and I grasp my bow with both hands.

"Do you even know what that feels like?"

I step back.

"To press down on someone's airway and hear them strangle and struggle under you."

My body shakes slightly as I watch his face take on a darker form as he speaks. The end of my bow hits his chest, and it slips out of my grasp from one clean pull by him.

He grabs me by the collar of my grey yukata, "To feel their nails dig in to your flesh as you feel something under their skin give way allowing you to press harder than ever."

I struggle to pry his fingers loose from my clothing wanting nothing more but for him to stop talking.

"3 minutes. That's how long it takes for them to finally stop moving." He pulls me closer to him, and my hands jump from his wrist to his chest as my feet dig in to the ground trying to keep what little distance there is between us, "Can you really watch me die for 3 minutes…..because I can watch you. Oh, I'm quite certain I'd enjoy feeling you struggle under me." He lets go, and I stumble backwards landing on my bottom.

I continue to scoot myself further from him, and he laughs. Not a dark laugh….but….a friendly one, as if he had just finished telling the punch line to a joke. His laugh intensifies as Jakotsu joins in.

"Look at her face," Jakotsu says doubling over and clutching his stomach, "OOoo, I thought you were so tough hahaha you're so pale hahahaha."

Bankotsu's laugh dies to a chuckle, "You've gotta lighten up there, Yaruki." He walks over to me and squats down. A cheerful smile, as if we have been friends for years, rests on his face. "Learn to take a joke, huh."

He holds out his hand to help me up.

 _What. the actual. fuck?_

Rage replaces my fear as I slap his hand away from me, and he dodges my kick to his shin. I stand and scream at him as I try to shove him as hard as I could to the ground, but he catches my wrists and twists my arms behind me placing me in a hold against his chest. He moves me forward and with his free hand lifts his halberd.

"Let's go, Jakotsu."

I jerk away from him and immediately regret it as the pain shoots up and down my arm. He pulls up on my arm, and I cry out.

* * *

His grip held firm the rest of the way to the Lord's castle despite my painful attempts to break free.

The guards shout out commands to one another upon our arrival, and the gates open.

"Well done, Gentleman! Well done indeed. I got up early to see the show only to discover that you have done it during the night."

I direct my glare to the approaching fat man in blue silk garments.

"And I see you've collected a lovely little toy, yes?"

The Lord's fat eyes travel down my body, and a cold shiver runs through me.

"She peeks my interest." Bankotsu says casually. He shifts his foot quickly to avoid my stomp and in response, he jerks my arm up again.

The Lord laughs, "I see she is very fond of you. Well come in, come in. I have your money ready and waiting for you, but I do insist that you stay the night and relax." The Lord's eyes find their way back to me, and he smiles. "You've certainly earned it."

"Much obliged." Bankotsu says cheerfully as he pushes me forward.

"Let go." I whisper.

"Behave." He whispers back.

"Bite me."

"Don't tempt me."

I feel his grip loosen, and I snatch my arm away. He gives me a warning glance before following the Lord and Jakotsu deeper into the manor.

Rubbing my arms, I look back to see the guards shut the gate and return to their post. I sigh before following the three men in to the building.

And to think that a few hours ago marrying Shinjou was the worst possible outcome for my life.

"Ah, there you are my dear."

I see Jakotsu and Bankotsu pocket healthy looking pouches in to their respective places on their person before turning towards me.

The Lord walks towards me, "You look as if you've been through hell and back."

I move away from his approaching hand, and he laughs it off.

"Why don't you follow Mei to the bath house, yes?"

The Lord snaps his fingers, and an old maid with salt and pepper hair approaches me. She bows before taking my hand. I glance behind me to see the Lord guiding Bankotsu and Jakotsu in the opposite direction speaking in soft voices.

* * *

In the silence and emptiness of the large bathing room, I cry.

My body shakes with every passing sob as my mind replays the scene of my village, Kiku, and father over again. Feelings of guilt, hatred, and loneliness swirl around me, and my mind jumps between plans to murder and plans of self-harm, but there was nothing I could do.

I did not possess the courage to end my own life, nor did I have the strength or skill to take on Bankotsu and Jakotsu, and certainly the Lord does not go anywhere without skilled guards around him at all times.

I wash my face in the warm water after finally being able to collect myself and my thoughts. There was the option of running away, but how would I get past the guards? I softly chewed on my nail as I ran several scenarios through my head. Running would be the best option, but I could not just leave without seeing due justice for my family and friends. But with nothing but a bow, how could that be done?

Sighing, I stand and grab something to cover me. My head throbs from all the crying and plotting, and my eyes wanted nothing more but to rest. I reach for my worn yet familiar yukata only to see a dark blue western style dress in its place. I lift it up and examine the frills around the sleeve and collar in disgust.

"My Lord wishes for you to wear this to dinner."

I take a minute to steady my startled heart before turning to see Mei. "Where is my yukata?"

"My Lord requested that it be destroyed."

"Who is he to destroy something that is not his!?" I snap, but the old woman shows no sign of remorse or regret.

"My apologies miss." She mutters out of formalities.

I glare down at the dress before shaking my head, "Just take me to my room please."

"As you wish."

* * *

Mei slides the door open, and I walk in taking the first open seat I saw. Bankotsu wore his usual outfit minus the armor, but Jakotsu wore a more elaborate yukata with silver dragons against a red background. He seems very pleased with his new outfit as he sips on some sake.

"Oh! I'm so glad you got my gift, dear. Doesn't she look stunning? It's the lasted fashion out West, but wasn't there lace around the collar and sleeves?"

"It itched, so I ripped them off." I say flatly as I pour myself something to drink.

The hefty Lord clears his throat as the maids begin filling the table with dishes and delicacies that I didn't even know the name of.

"It must be nice being a Lord and all. You eat like this every day?" Bankotsu asks shamelessly filling his plate.

The Lord laughs, "Not just me, my dear boy, but everyone employed under me eats like a king."

I catch the hint, but Bankotsu is far to engrossed in the food to notice.

"Then I probably should have asked for more money, huh?"

The Lord laughs again, and I glare at my empty plate.

Suddenly, a roasted fish lands on my plate, and I direct my glare to Bankotsu. He leans over while Jakotsu snares the Lord in to a lively conversation.

"I suggest you eat now. There is not telling when we'll eat like this again."

"It's funny how seeing your family and friends murdered right in front of you can keep you from being hungry."

"Are you still on that? Geez, talk about holding a grudge."

My hand twitches as I envision ramming my chopsticks in to the side of his neck, but I settle with violently glaring at him.

"You know Yaruki, you're surprisingly cute when you're angry. If you're not careful with those glares, you may force me to do something you'd might not enjoy all too much."

I look away, but not before muttering 'Do and I'll castrate you with the first sharp thing I see.'

Bankotsu chokes a little on his food, and a small chuckle escapes me.

I pick up a piece of grilled fish and freeze as the irony of the situation hits me. It was hard to believe that literally only hours ago, I was eating this same meal with my father….and now…..

I sit the piece back down and sip on my drink.

"Banktosu tells me your name is Yaruki. A strong name for a young woman. 'The will to do something', am I correct?"

Bankotsu looks over in my direction when my silence runs a bit longer than what is polite. His glare holds all the violence that a verbal threat could contain, and I sit up a little straighter. "Yes," I begin flatly, "….sort of. Motivation could be another possible translation."

"And are you motivated, my dear? Do you have any goals you would like to achieve?"

"Despite my current situation…..yes….I do have a goal…..one that I feel motivates me greatly." My tone became a tad darker than expected at the end of my sentence, and I casually life my drink again.

The Lord smiles, "May I ask what the goal is?"

The cup hovers close to my lips. "No." I take a sip and set my cup back down, "Only because it's very personal, you see. No disrespect intended."

The Lord nods engorging himself on some food before turning his attention back to me, "Would you like to hear my goal then? It's not as personal, but still something that gets me motivated."

I finally gain the ability to peck at the now cold fish on my plate and carefully begin to eat it.

"My goal, dear Yaruki, is to have a lovely wife to spoil with all the fine things this life has to offer. A simple wife…from a simple village."

I choke slightly on the fish at his words.

"It's such a bore entertaining young ladies of the surrounding lands. They've seen and done it all, but village girls." He gives off a sick chuckle, "They are so entranced by the simplest things."

I reach over a take a large gulp of my drink already seeing where this conversation is heading.

"Tell me, Yaruki, can you imagine living in such a grand house like this? Eating food like this on a daily basis, wearing such fine clothes from distant lands on the regular?"

I look over to Bankotsu who seems completely oblivious to the conversation. He locks eyes with me for a moment before asking Jakotsu to refill his cup.

"I honestly can't say that I can." I say lowly keeping my eyes on Bankotsu.

The Lord laughs, "You see that is what I mean. Village women are so simple. The smallest things such as all this trivial grandeur confuses them. It's quite refreshing really."

I set my chop sticks down as a sickening feeling settles in my stomach. "I think I'm done for the night. Please excuse me."

* * *

I lay on my side quietly staring out at the small window of my room. My back was to the door, and my hand is under the pillow clutching the small knife I swiped from dinner earlier.

My heart was calm and steady as I waited. My muscles tight with anticipation as my ears strain to hear any nose from the other side of my door.

Finally, I heard them.

Slow lumbering footsteps that were trying to be quiet. His hard stifled heavy breath as he stops at my door.

I slide the knife out from under my pillow and brought it to my right hand holding it tight.

He slowly slides the door open. Slipping his large body through and shutting it firmly behind him.

I remain still; careful to keep my breathing as even as possible.

"Sweet, sweet, Yaruki." He moans as he crawls on to the mat with me, "I wonder how much you will scream tonight for your dead parents."

I hear him loosen his robes.

Just a little bit closer

"I want to hear you scream. All the village girls do." He inches closer to me, careful not to "wake" me.

Wait for it, Yaruki.

"I want to make you scream."

Almost…

"I want to make you cry."

He leans over me.

I twist my upper body towards him swing the blade. A startled gasp escapes him as he clutches the side of his face.

 _I missed…..I missed his throat._

He pulls his shaky hand away and stares at the blood. A chuckle escapes him as he looks over at me, "Clever, clever little girl." He grabs my wrist and twists it hard causing the blade to fall from my hands, "But I paid extra for you, and I will get what I paid for."

His other hand clamps tightly around my throat as he presses his full weight on me.

Immediately, I begin to fight. Thrashing, jerking, kicking, but the more I fought, the more difficult it became to breathe. I could feel his leg press and push between mine forcing them apart.

I dig my nails in to his arm, scalp, hand, searching for a soft point to bury them in. I feel his wet warm tongue slide up the side of my throat stopping at my ear where he bites down.

I scream.

His lower half struggles without the help of his hands to lift my hips up so that I am level with him. His lips find their way to mine, and he forces his tongue in to my mouth.

My body tenses as I feel it release a torrent of adrenaline through me.

I bite down as hard as I can on the wiggling appendage.

The Lord jerks back.

I feel it sever and warm blood gushes into me.

He screams as he rolls off me. Blood sputtering and spilling from his mouth.

I numbly rise and spit the warm slimy fleshy piece from my mouth and in to my hand.

I could hear the steady flow of blood rushing in my ears downing out his muffled screams.

I look over to see him stumbling towards the room door….but slowly, as if my mind had slowed time itself so I may accomplish whatever it was I wanted to do with him. I let the bloody flesh slip from my hand and slowly descend to the ground as I grab my blade and stand.

I calmly walk over to him all the while stunned that my movements are not affect by this shift in speed.

I grab the fleshy under portion of his arm lifting him up with very little trouble before pressing him against the door.

I push the blade in to his stomach, pull it out, and then calmly push it in to his side.

I bring the blade down repeatedly in to his throat, temple, eye, anywhere that gave the least bit resistance enjoying the power I had over him.

All too soon, it ended with a painful ringing in my ears.

His natural weight returned causing him to slip from my grasp and slump to the ground.

I collapse to the ground suddenly exhausted and gasping for air as my heart tries to pound its way through my rib cage.

Rolling to my back, I stare up at the ceiling listening to my labored breaths, trying to wrap my head around what happened. My arms ache, and I painfully relax my fingers that clutch the hilt of my blade for dear life.

After a few minutes, I manage to sit myself up and stare at the slumped silent form of the Lord.

 _Twenty-five._

That's how many times I managed to stab him before my high ended.

 _Twenty-five._

I flop back down on my back and exhale slowly closing my eyes.

 _What an odd number._

* * *

Just to clarify, Yaruki **DOES NOT HAVE SUPER POWERS**. I was trying my best to describe an extreme adrenaline rush. I might have done so poorly, so please forgive me.


	3. Author Notice (Will update next week)

Hey everyone,

Sorry for not having a proper update. This week has been hell in regards of time and energy. I have something, but I have not had the time to properly check over it, edit it, and perfect it. This is not something I can do in a day, trust me. I dedicate a good couple of days to doing this because I always end up changing an entire part of the story, and I don't want to post crappy writing just to have an update out.

Please forgive me, and I will have a proper update next Sunday.

 _~Stay Caffeinated_


	4. Chapter 3

~Enjoy! If you see any mistakes let me know.

* * *

++++++Chapter 3+++++++

…ey…

….ake…..p…..

…EY!...ET…..

…..WAKE UP!...

I feel a strong slap to my face, and I rocket upwards swinging my open hand.

Someone catches it and snatches me up. "….Get…p….upid!"

I feel them pull me forwards at an alarming pace, and I stumble slightly to keep up.

"….ead…..ance…..ide…"

I try to clear my head, but sleep still coats it and the rest of my body.

"….ath…..eave….ow….upid!"

The person continues to practically drag me along, and I stumble to my knees. I feel them grip harder on my wrist as another force grabs me by the back of my collar.

They hoist me up with surprising strength and roughly shove me forward.

"…alk…..mnit!"

The person shoves and yanks me left and right before giving me one last thrust forwards and letting go.

The sudden stillness allows my eyes to droop again as I drift back to sleep.

A hard shove pushes me forwards, and I plunge in to ice cold water. The chill expels whatever sleep was left in my body, and I flail violently. Water slips in to my lungs as I struggle to grip anything and flail harder. Finally, my head breaks the surface, and I gasp, sputtering and choking the water out of my lungs.

"What the hell!?"

I slick back my drenched black hair as I glare at the man before me, but Jakotsu seems unfazed.

"Hurry up! We don't have all day."

I slap the water towards him, and he jumps back returning my glare.

"You almost drowned me, you jerk!" I make my way to the edge in an attempt to get out, but Jakotsu presses his sandaled foot to my face and pushes me back.

I fall back underwater.

"STOP!" I bark once my head reached the surface again

"You have to scrub yourself, stupid!"

I feel my face contort in to confusion, "Why?"

An irritated look bleeds across Jakotsu's face, "Because it's hard to pass by the guards when you're covered in their Lord's blood!."

I finally pay attention to the water around me seeing the faint pink tint. I bring some cupped water to my face and scrub it vigorously. I watch a more of the pink color oozes to the water below me. I stare at my arms seeing streaks of dried blood spattered around them, and I scrub that off vigorously as well.

"Where is the body?" I ask firmly as I continue to scrub as much of the blood off as possible.

Jakotsu sighs as if wanting to be anywhere but here. "Bankotsu is taking care of it, but it will only buy us enough time to escape, so HURRY UP!"

I make a face at his turned back before doing the best I can in washing with my clothes still on. Once I have scrubbed myself down to Jakotsu's liking, I climb out, and he throws a pale green kimono at me. I stare at the soft yet simple fabric for a moment before I begin shifting off the dress. I suddenly become aware of Jakotsu's eyes on me, and I quickly press the kimono to my partially exposed form.

"TURN AROUND, YOU PERV!"

He blinks a few times confused before realization washes over him, "OH, YOU WISH! Who'd ever want a gross cow like you?"

I make a hard offended noise as I glare at him, "Says the guy CLEARLY incapable of taking his eyes off me!"

Jakotsu shudders and gags in disgust, "First of all, I was staring because I was trying to figure out how someone as pathetically weak as you could do that much damage to that fat bastard. Secondly, EWWW!"

I turn my back to him and quickly dress, "So what, you're scared I'll do the same to you?"

A hear him snort as I finish tightening the robe around me.

"Hardly, I'm implying that it was an impressive task for someone like YOU! If you even had half of my skill, then you would know that what you did in there was a sloppy hack job! A hack job, mind you, THAT WE HAD TO CLEAN UP!"

I spin around in rage; fists clenched, "NO ONE ASKED YOU TO DO THAT!"

"Oh, ok, so what your plan then, huh? To just leave him there and rot!?"

"YES!"

Jakotsu groans rubbing his hands over his face, "You're such a fucking moron. Just how exactly did you plan to escape afterwards, huh?"

I chew on my lower lip, in frustration and embarrassment, failing to come up with an answer to his question. I exhale finally and cross my arms over my chest before rolling my eyes at him and sucking my teeth, "I…." I give him the proudest face I could muster, "I would have crossed that bridge when I got to it." I say simply before giving him a dismissive turn of the head.

From the corner of my eye, I see Jakotsu's face redden with rage as his whole body trembles.

He opens his mouth, and a sharp whistle sounds from somewhere outside the bathing room. Another whistle gives its response as we hear the quick footsteps of the guards as they begin to search for us.

"Damnit!" he barks before running to the doors and snatching them open. "You wasted our time!" He takes off running down the hall.

"COME ON, YOU FUCKING IDIOT!"

"Oh, fuck you, you ass!" I bark back chasing after him.

* * *

To be on the other end of Jakotsu's blade; to see him in action when I am not the target, is still frightening, but also….a bit….. awe-inspiring.

Blood coats the walls of the manor as his blade snakes through body after body. We quickly make our way down the halls-turning, slicing, running. Jakotsu's dark laughter seems to fill the entire manor, meeting us around every corner.

A part of me is suddenly jealous.

Jealous that there is no weapon in my hands. Jealous that I cannot partake of the blood shed as well.

Our pace slows tremendously, and I use this time to catch my breath. Shaking my head vigorously, I exhale slowly.

What sort of preposterous thought was that?

What Bankotsu does, what Jakotsu does….it's all wrong. They kill for fun…for sport….

My killing was necessary…..justifiable…..I did what I had to do. Not only for my family, but for my safety as well.

I look down at my hands clenching and unclenching them slowly. I regret nothing. I took a life, and it was a vile one.

The world is a far better place without him.

…..So why then, do I feel so…..guilty?...no…..empty?

I clench my fists again, struggling to find the word.

"I can't believe this."

I look up from my thoughts to see Jakotsu glaring at me, resting a hand on his hip, and his sword on his shoulder.

"Stuck in this stupid manor with YOU. All because Big Brother can only think with one thing at a time. 'Giver her time!' 'We need a sharp shooter' 'She could be useful' Feh! Look at how useful you are. I'm the one doing all the work."

"Boo hoo, Waa, Waa, waa. What do you expect me to do without a bow or arrows?"

"Tch," He turns on his heels and begins walking again, "like you'd use them anyway."

"Oh, I'd use them alright," I mutter. "Just not on the guards."

Jakotsu turns back around, "What did you say?!"

I stand a little straighter as I walk towards him, "I said, you look like a horse. An ugly horse with make up!"

"YOU LITTLE COW!"

I leap backwards and out of range from his punch.

Jakotsu trembles in rage that his punch missed, "Bankotsu said I couldn't kill you." He sheaths his sword, "But he said nothing about beating you half to death."

My lips twitch from a mixture of fear and excitement as I hear the blood pump and gush against my ears.

The muscles on my body twitch and tremble as a chuckle slips past my lips slightly startling me. I let another out. Then, another. Until finally, I am laughing, "I'm sorry, did I say ugly? I meant ugly and fat."

Jakotsu's eyes take on a crazed infuriated, "I'll fucking kill you!"

I leap back and away at his charging form and continue to laugh, "That's if you can catch me, fat ass!"

My movements are light and quick as I dance around the enraged Jakotsu. I watch in awe at his slow motioned movements relishing how easily I could get away.

I turn my body to dodge another one of his punches before reaching over his out stretched arm and thumping him hard on the bridge of the nose. I laugh as I watch his face scrunch up in pain and duck under his arm as he swipes it over to my directions. I hop back once to place some distance between his, and then again for good measure, but my foot lands in something slick.

The rush dissipates as I fall backwards slamming my back and head hard against the ground. All air escapes me as a sharp ringing sound fills my ears. Several seconds pass, before I am able to fill my lungs and as the ringing fades, hard laughter takes its place.

I finally manage to sit myself up, and my head throbs in protest at my movements. I look over to see Jakotsu rolling on the floor, gripping his sides, as his face grows in to deeper and deeper shades of red.

He inhales deeply and screams out another wave of laughter.

I feel my face redden as I roll my eyes and struggle to get to stand. My feet slip out from under me once more, and I land hard on my butt.

Jakotsu squeals kicking his feet. "I can't….breathe!", he manages to gasp between laughs.

I look down and stare dumbfounded at the pool of blood I had managed to slip in to before finally cracking up myself. It starts out low and increases in fervor until finally I am laughing as hard as Jakotsu.

Our laughter mixes together, growing in passion, and filling the corpse-ridden bloody hallway.

* * *

"What….happened to the two of you?" Bankotsu asks as he stands. The blood coated Jakotsu rushes over to him fists clenched cheeks puffed.

"She hugged me and ruined my clothes!"

I place my hands on my hips, "Damn right I did. That's what you get for laughing at me instead of helping me up."

"YOU WERE LAUGHING TOO!"

"I am allowed to laugh at myself!"

Bankotsu shakes his head giving up on trying to follow our conversation, "I thought I told you to get her cleaned up."

"I did!" Jakotsu pouts, "We would have been out sooner, but she was being stupid-"

"I'M NOT STUPID!"

"SHE WAS BEING STUPID, and I got distracted, and she wasted the time you gave us to escape. So I had to kill all the guards by myself-"

"I DIDN'T HAVE A WEAPON!"

" **BY. MY. SELF.** And then this dumbass slipped and fell in a pool of blood, which was fucking hilarious."

"Oh you remember that, but conveniently forgot the part where I called you a FAT, UGLY HORSE, which is a statement I still stand by!"

He finally spins around to look at me, "YOOOOUUU BITCH!"

A sharp whistle sounds, and we both fall silently.

Bankotsu runs a hand through his bangs as he sighs, "I don't care anymore."

Jakotsu pouts.

Bankotsu looks towards me and smirks.

I quickly look away.

"What I am still curious about is what happened between you and the Lord. You did quite the number on him, huh?"

I could hear the smirk twist into a broader smile, and I cross my arms suddenly feeling very disgusted with myself.

"I'm actually quite impressed. I mean, it was a bit sloppy-"

"Toooold yoooouuuu."

I throw a sharp glare towards Jakotsu, and he makes a face at me.

"But, still, not bad for your first time. With a little practice, you could be a very efficient killer, and at least you had fun, right?"

Unable to ignore him any longer, I look him straight in the eyes, "Nothing about what I did was fun. I'm not sick like the two of you. I don't take enjoyment in killing."

"That's not what his body told me." He walks up to me that twisted smile plastered on his face, "A clean cut to the throat would have been plenty, but you decided to stab him. Multiple times, I might add."

I swat his hand away from me,"Only because I missed his throat!"

Bankotsu begins to circle around me playfully, "So instead of trying again," he beings casually, "you decide to stab him 25 times? Come on, Yaruki." He stops behind me and leans closer to my ear, "You're among friends. Just admit it that you enjoyed it. It's nothing to be embarrassed about."

I ignore his warm breath washing over the back of my neck and the chill his hushed voice caused down my spine. My arms cross over my chest defiantly, "I am not a monster like you. I did what I had set out to do, and the only enjoyment I took from it was in knowing that such a vile creature no longer exists.

"Ah! But you did enjoy it, see." He appears in front of me a broad smile on his face, "I knew you would come around."

I frown at him, "Are you finished?"

He chuckles, "No. In honor of your first kill, I got you a little gift."

I roll my eyes at him, "Keep it. I have not use for gifts from someone like you."

A genuine look of hurt crosses his face, "Really? But I was so careful in picking it out too." He moves back to where he was sitting and reaches for something.

I scoff glaring at something in the distance and trying to ignore the pang of curiosity growing inside me, "I don't care."

"You ungrateful…."

I shift out of Jakotsu swinging range and stick my tongue out at him, but something catches the corner of my eye.

I turn back towards Bankotsu and see a sleek jet black yumi within his grip. My mouth stands agape at the beautiful bow that I have only seen from images in my father's books.

A samurai's greatest weapon long before the katana was ever made.

"You like it, right?"

I blink coming back to my senses, "It's….ok…..."

Bankotsu smiles brightly, "I took it from one of the guards before I left. I'm not much of a bow expert, but I figured you'd like it. I think it's a bit long for you though."

"It's a yumi." I say quickly, but then clear my throat in an attempt to hide my excitement, "It's….it's meant to be taller than the archer." I eye it carefully but discreetly, trying to remember what kind of yumi it is and if it were the kind I needed based on my own height.

"It's got to be a Nisun-nobi..." I mutter softly to myself chewing on my nail. I suddenly look back at Bankotsu, "How tall was this guard?"

He shrugs, "Maybe my height if not taller. You wanna hold it? It is yours after all."

My eyes fall back on the slick bow as I cautiously step towards him. Quickly, I pull it from his grasp and turn away to hold it up.

The bow is well cared for and sturdy despite it being a bit too long. "Nothing a little practice couldn't make up for." I mutter softly to myself.

Unable to hold back my excitement any longer, a broad smile finds its way to my face as my fingers slide down its smooth curved body.

Oooooh, the damage I could do to these two men with this baby. My body trembles with excitement at the image of arrows piercing though Bankotsu's eye and Jakotsu heart with clear solid thuds. The power behind this bow at close range gives me goose bumps. How stupid was this man to equip me with a better means of killing him?

"The only catch to keeping it," Bankotsu's voice shatter my thoughts, "is you have to use it."

His words echo in my mind as the true purpose of giving me this "gift" becomes clear. "I can't keep my distance." I say turning to face him.

He smiles a response.

"If I fight you with this…"

"It would have to be at close to mid-range…if you want to do any serious damage, of course. Did you really think I would give you something that you could use at a distance against me? Plus, I still have to train you in hand to hand combat, so I figured this would force you to get closer to me if you tried anything."

I laugh a little, "I thought you said you weren't an expert on bows."

"The previous owner and I had a little chat."

"Before you killed him?" I ask quietly, and Bankotsu shrugs.

"Dead men have no use for bows, Yaruki."

I close my eyes as the disgust for this man grows, boils, and churns in the pit of my stomach.

"Enjoy it." He tosses me a full quiver, "It's to celebrate your first kill and all the rest that will follow." He lifts his large halberd and begins to walk. Jakotsu following close behind.

I look down at the now sour gift.

 _"And all the rest that will follow."_


	5. Chapter 4

++++++Chapter 4+++++++

"Curse you Monsters!"

My face contorts in pain as I watch the farmer swing his blade haphazardly at me. His wife and child tremble behind him.

"I'm not like them." I say gently taking a step forward. The farmer lunges at me, but I move quickly to the side, "Please, listen to me."

"Curse you!" He swings again, but he has no formal training with the sword. I dodge it with ease.

"Let me help you!" More screams from the other villagers sound in the distance, and I lower my bow and quiver to the ground, "See. Look. I am here to help you. Please…..let me help you."

The farmer eyes me suspiciously before inching closer and grabbing my things. He tosses it back to his wife who shakily tries to load the bow, but ends up holding the arrow out like a sword after a few failed attempts.

"Please trust me. I won't hurt you. I'm not like them."

"How do we know that? You came with them didn't you?"

"Aye, I did, but…..please…..let me do this…..let me save you."

Jakotsu's dark laughter grows as more screams sound. He was getting closer to them. I give the trembling farmer a stern look, "The more you question me, the less time we have to escape. Please, come with me."

He grips his sword harder his mind racing as he glances back to his family.

Begrudgingly, he nods.

* * *

I push the family forward through the small alleyways of the village. The farmer guiding me down the best paths till we reach the forest edge.

"Keep going, find the path, and don't stop until you hit the next village." The farmer nods and quickly the wife embraces my neck.

"Thank you." She whispers.

I watch as the family disappears in to the forest before running back to find more survivors.

* * *

"Go!" I harshly whisper as I push the toddler in to the arms of one of the two teenage girls in to the forest. "Keep going until you hit the next village. There should be others not too far ahead. Catch up with them." The eldest of the teens nods, and the sobbing toddler buries her face in to the neck of other girl.

I sigh as I watch them disappear.

10 villagers total. I shake my head at the low number kicking myself for not moving faster. I start to make my way back to the now silent and smoldering village, when a scream rings out behind me.

My blood runs cold as I turn and stare back at the tree line. Another scream and a large rock settles in the pit of my stomach as I race in to the forest.

No….

I duck and weave through trees and limbs, silently praying.

No….

My mind racing through each rescue. Each attempt. I avoided Jakotsu as best I could. We froze when we heard him, and moved when he moved in a different direction.

Tears began stinging my eyes….

I always heard Jakotsu in village.

NO…

I heard **_only_** Jakotsu in the village….

I burst through in to the clearing gasping for air, and I freeze.

There they were…..there they **all** were.

My eyes bounce from one lifeless form to the next as tears stream down my cheeks. A guttural cry escapes me.

"I tried….I tried…."

I fall to my knees as sobs rip through my body.

"damn it….damn it…DAMN IT!" I slam my fists on the ground. "They trusted me….they trusted me….."

"And that was their mistake."

My body trembles as I will myself to look up at him through teary eyes. Sitting cross-legged on a stone like a god-damn king, he smiles at me. His halberd deep in to the ground at his side.

I could see traces of their blood splattered against the cold metal.

 _This motherfucker…._

"I gotta hand it to you, Yaruki," he begins as he slowly claps, "You really are cold-blooded. I would have never thought of sending them in to the woods one at a time to kill them."

 _This goddamn MOTHERFUCKER!_

"Like sheep to the slaughter. Brilliant!" he says with a hearty laugh, "I knew there was a reason I kept you around."

My body trembles as the blood gushes in to each and every muscle. Rage floods my brain and eyes as I let out a terrible shriek before charging at him.

The force behind my body slam catches him off guard, and he falls backwards taking me with him. He growls recovering from his shock faster than I expected before throwing me over him and in to a tree.

He lands on his back then rolls to his getting to his feet before me. I charge at him again wanting nothing more but to rip his throat out with my bare hands.

With the same sickening smirk plastered on his face, he grabs my out stretched arm with one hand and my waist with the other. With great ease he lifts me up and over his head slamming me to the ground. The force behind that blow knocks all the rage clean from my body.

I struggle to breathe for a minute clutching my eyes closed from the pain. After a moment, my stunned lungs recover, and I open my eyes to the swirling trees and blackened sky above me.

Bankotsu leans over me, that same smirk still on his face, "A valiant attempt, but you're gonna need more practice before you can take me on in hand-to-hand. I very please though, you've got some potential."

I shut my eyes for a moment as the nausea replaces the dizziness.

"You should really get some rest, though. You don't look too good."

My lips tremble as I stare up at him once more, "F-f-fuck…y-y…."

He brings his fist down, and everything goes dark.

* * *

I wake to a sharp bright light. My back and arm protest as I carefully sit myself up.

Hard throbs ripple through my skull as last night's events bring themselves to the forefront of my mind.

Mainly the faces. The cold, scared, and betrayed faces of the villagers I tried to save.

 _You really are cold-blooded_

"No…." I whimper as I clutch my head.

 _…sending them in to the woods one at a time to kill them…_

I was saving them…I was…

 _…Like sheep to the slaughter…_

I tuck my head between my knees and sob, "I was saving them, daddy…I swear I was…."

I rock my body allowing myself to grieve for each one. Burning their faces in to my memory.

It was my fault….

I should have been more careful…..

I should have checked…

My sobs begin spilling out more and more rapidly as I press my legs closer to my chest.

They trusted me.…

…and I was careless….

An eternity passes before my sobs began to ebb away eventually leaving me hot and exhausted. I take in a shaky breath as I wipe the tears and snot on the sleeve of my stained kimono. Resting my cheek on the top of my knees, I staring blankly at the hut's tiny wall. My quiet sniffles being the only noise inside or out.

 _"I knew there was a reason I kept you around."_

My blank stare forms in to a glare, "I underestimated how clever he really was….."

My mind flashes through last night's events. How did I miss his complete absence?

I had no clue where he was, but he knew what I was doing the entire time…..

"Of course he did" I chastise softly, "He was checking up on me…..Making sure I was being useful."

He left Jakotsu to destroy the village on his own…

"….because he trusts Jakotsu…." Closing my eyes, I sigh.

He doesn't trust me…therefore, he'll always keep an eye on me….

A sickness settles in the pit of my stomach as I lie on my back. They are monsters. Walking personifications of death and destruction. If I am to succeed in killing them, I have to get serious. Mistakes like last nights can only happen so many times, before their patience with me runs out.

I shift to my side. The Lord was easy. He wanted me, so he came to me. He opened himself up, and I took advantage of that.

My lips tremble in excitement at the memory. The rush I felt holding him up with a strength I didn't even know I possessed. The feeling of my blade ripping through flesh and tissue. The warmth of his blood over my chilled hands.

Clinching my eyes shut, I pull the covers to my mouth. Is it wrong for me to have enjoyed killing him? No….. no…..It felt good because I had purged this world of a festering disease and in the process, I felt a power I had never known before. I did a good deed, and although the means to which I achieved it is questionable, the result was well worth it. The world is a far better place now because of my actions.

I let out a breath I did not realize I was holding, and stare up at the ceiling as I roll to my back.

Neither Bankotsu nor Jakotsu will be so foolish as to put themselves in such a predicament. I run my hands over my face. A whimper-whine escapes me.

I need to gain their trust but how?

 _…Like sheep to the slaughter. Brilliant!.._

I sit up shaking my head vigorously at Bankotsu's echoed praise. No…..not like that…..not at the cost of innocent lives.

There has to be another way.

Footsteps sound from outside breaking me of my thoughts, and I quickly wipe my face for any lingering signs of sadness.

"It's about time!" Jakotsu barks storming in to the little hut, "Do you have any idea how boring it is waiting for you to wake up!?"

Ignoring him completely, I scan the little room resting my eyes on a chest adjacent to me. Crawling over to it, I begin to rummage through for more suitable clothing. Running around in a blood stained kimono would not be the smartest decision I ever made.

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Not really, no." I finally find an outfit that looks like it would fit me before turning, "You mind? I need to change."

Jakotsu turns in a huff, "Hurry up!" He storms out slamming the door behind him.

I quickly dress slipping on the dark blue kimono and place the large dark blue hakama over it. I test out my mobility and nod in approval before leaving the hut.

Squinting as the bright sun assaults my eyes I approach Jakotsu who taps his foot impatiently at me. He too had managed to find an outfit to replace the one I purposely blooded.

I must admit, yellow fit him quite nicely.

"Took you long enough."

"Oh, go suck a snake."

Jakotsu sneers at me, but I choose to ignore it as my eyes quickly dance around, searching for that halberd carrying bastard. "Where is Bankotsu?"

"He went on ahead to collect our payment earlier this morning. We are supposed to meet him in the next village over." Jakotsu steps closer to me, a wicked smile spreading over his face, "And he put me in charge, so you have to do whatever I say."

The pride in his voice reminds me of a child finally old enough to babysit their younger siblings.

"He also told me to give you these, and to warn you not to lose them again." He holds out my bow and quiver but snatches it away just a I go to reach for them. He snickers, "Honestly, how could you let a couple of weak villagers disarm you like that anyway?"

I growl as I try again to grab my things, but he lifts it over his head and out of my reach, "You're so short, it's pathetic."

"I am not in the mood, Jakotsu" I hiss, but he just laughs.

"Oooooh, scary. How about you-"

I flinch slightly as my sandaled foot rams in to his exposed shin with as much force as I could muster.

He drops my things immediately and begins hopping on one foot cursing my entire lineage while rubbing his now bruised shin. I snatch up my things trying hard to ignore the throbbing in my toes as I limp towards the forest line.

"Serves you right."

* * *

A noise that is a cross between a scream, a groan, and a roar escapes my lips as I stare up at the early afternoon sky, "Just admit we're lost already!"

Jakotsu growls at me, "Will you be quiet! I'm thinking!" He folds his arms as he glares at the two roads before him as if looking intimidating would reveal the true path.

"Don't strain to hard." I mutter before setting my bow down and leaning against a tree.

I gently rub my bruised cheek-punishment for my shin kick earlier- as I give him a strong two minutes of silence, "Come ooooooooonnnnnnn!"

"Will you shut-up?!" he barks glaring at me.

"Do you even know the name of the village we're going to?"

"Yes!" he shouts defiantly before turning back to the roads.

I could hear him gently muttering to himself as he chews his nail.

"…..Engata…no…..Kumakotan…no….Shima….."

"YOU DON'T REMEMBER?!"

"I do too!"

I run both hands through my hair as I press my forehead against a tree, "I'm gonna die in the forest with this idiot." I turn and watch him as he racks his brain for the name of the village. "OH, just come on!" Snatching up my bow in one hand and the collar of his yukata in the other, we travel down the path to the left.

* * *

We continue traveling well in to the late afternoon, but the scenery didn't change much.

"They built this path, so it's got to end at some point." I mutter softly to myself. I hear a loud gurgle behind me and Jakotsu whimpers.

"I'm so hungry."

As if happy to hear a fellow organ in distress, my stomach rumbles louder than Jakotsu's.

"Hey! You can't be hungrier than me." He runs up so we are side by side, and his stomach gurgles at a higher volume than mine.

"I have every right to be just as hungry as you are." I say flatly keeping my eyes forward. As if to support my claim, my belly gives off an obnoxiously loud grumble. I see Jakotsu strain next me in an attempt to make his stomach gurgle again, but nothing happens. I lift my head up a little higher as a smirk spreads on my lips.

"Oh, shut-up."

We travel for anther twenty minutes in silence before he begins huffing impatiently. "Are we there yet?"

"How should I know!?"

"You chose this path!"

"That doesn't mean I know where I'm going!"

"How do you not know where you're going, you stupid woman!"

"Says the moron who forgot the name of the village we're supposed to be at by now."

Our argument grows in volume as we continue to tromp through the forest. Names were being thrown around, mothers were being insulted, poor little animals were forced to do impure things.

I let out another roar, groan, scream hybrid noise as we step out in to a sudden clearing, but then freeze at the sight before me.

"OH YEAH! WELL YOUR MOTHER CAN TAKE A FROG AND SHOVE IT SO F-f-far…up…..her….."

Jakotsu stops next to me. His hands fall to his side forgetting the very lude demonstration he was about to perform as his eyes land on the large Buddhist shrine at the top of a very steep hill.

Being the first to recover, I give him a smug 'told you so' look before walking up the stairs.

He huffs crossing his arms, "Tch…..it's still not a village."

* * *

We huff our way up the stairs taking a minute to catch our breath once we reach the top.

"May I help you?"

I raise a finger still doubled over and winded. Jakotsu laughs at me as he steps forward although he hasn't caught his breath either.

"You…you got any food?"

"Jakotsu."

"What?!"

I snatch him back after catching my breath and bow before speaking, "Sorry about my partner here." I force him in to a quick bow as well, and he glares at me. "We seem to have gotten lost and were wondering if you could spare some water and food."

I take in the head monk before me. He is tall with cleanly shaven head. Two purple tattoos ran vertically down his face; one over each eye and another tattoo at the center of his head. A creepy feeling settles on my shoulders as I glance around aware at how eerily quiet the temple is.

The monk smiles, "Of course. Come this way."

Jakotsu immediately follows, but I hang back trying to catch a glimpse of any others around.

"Come on, you cow!"

I glare at the back of Jakotsu's head as I run to catch up with them.

"That's quite a way to speak to your traveling partner." The monk notes turning his head slightly to look at us.

"Yeah well, I'm technically not traveling with him by choice." I say struggling to keep up with the men's long strides

Why the hell is everyone so freaking tall?!

"Him?"

I blink for a moment at the monk's odd expression before remembering that Jakotsu's attire doesn't match his gender at all, "Yeah, it's a boy. He's an odd one though, so don't pay him much mind."

I feel Jakotsu chilling glares beside me as the monk slides open a small room and ushers us in.

"Wait in here please."

We nod, and Jakotsu flops down on the mat.

He stretches out and yawns tired from all the walking we've done today. I peek out the small window that faces the center square. "Odd." I mutter, and Jakotsu cracks open one eye.

"What now?"

"Well, you'd think there would be more monks around, ya know?"

"It's a small temple, maybe he manages it all himself."

"Then how come he's head monk. Don't you need to have at least two monks for there to be a head monk?"

Jakotsu shrugs, "I don't know"

I look back to the window, "I mean, it seems pretty conceded of him to give himself the title of head monk if he is by himself. A bit redundant too."

"Why do you even care?" Jakotsu grumbles rolling to his side.

"Why don't you care?"

Jakotsu makes exaggerated snoring noises to get me to shut up, and I roll my eyes at him.

Quite a few minutes pass before our host returns with some water, hot rice and bread, and a few blankets. I nudge Jakotsu with my foot once, but he was far too deep in his sleep to be bothered.

"Well I tried." I say simply before digging in to the meal before me. I raise a cup to the monk before drinking.

"May I ask where you two are headed?"

"I would love to tell you, if this idiot over here didn't forget the name of the village."

"From the direction in which you came, you two must be refugees from the Shikami village back to the east."

I choke on the bread, "Wh-what makes you think that?" I feel my heart quicken, and I gulp down more water.

"Well, it's impossible for such destruction to go unnoticed for long. I could see the smoke still rising this morning."

"Ah…." I take another drink of water as the monk continues to study me. Now, I wish I had woken up Jakotsu.

"Well…..we….um….I'd….I'd rather not talk about it."

The monk nods, "Forgive me. I didn't mean to pry. I was simply curious. The closest village from here is Yabiro. You could reach it by nightfall, if you and your companion leave now, but I would feel better if the two of you set out in the morning. Especially after the long distance you have already covered."

I nod seeing as I didn't have much of a choice with Jakotsu snoring away behind me, "Much obliged."

The monk hands me the covers he brought with him before rising to leave, "If you need anything else, do not hesitate to let me know."

"Um."

He pauses at the door.

"I….may I ask your name? So that I can thank you properly."

He turns to me and smiles, "Renkotsu."

I return his smile before bowing, "Thank you, Monk Renkotsu."

* * *

 _Screams, nothing but screams fill the night air as I struggle to find my way through the darkness. The faces of those villagers. Their snarling bloodied faces twist as they scream in rage, pain, sorrow._

 _I turn down one ally way only to see a dead end._

 _Their screams grow louder as my fingers grope the wall before me in a feeble attempt to escape. I could feel their hot breath on my neck. Their cold dead eyes searing in to my back and flesh._

 _I was burning._

 _Burning under the screams. Their stares._

 _Burning…burning….._

 _I clawed at my belly that was searing with pain. They were inside me. Screaming…..burning me….._

 _I open my mouth to scream, and it fills with smoke._

I wake with a deep gasp and immediately regret it as I choke and sputter the smoke back out. A screams escapes me as I throw the burning cover off me and pat myself down.

I rush over and do the same to Jakotsu before shaking him, "WAKE UP!" I continue to shake him vigorously, but he doesn't move.

Standing, I race to the door only to find it jammed. I begin to beat furiously on it, "MONK RENKOTSU! MONK RENKOTSU!"

The roar of the flames drown out my voice, and I begin to cough. I turn back and try to wake Jakotsu once more. I shake him furiously before bring the back of my hand across his face as hard as I could.

He gasps awake and begins to cough.

"HELP ME WITH THE DOOR!"

It takes him a minute or two to recover from his daze before realizing our predicament. He pushes me out the way before reaching for the hilt of his sword. I hear him gasp as he begins to carefully but quickly search the burning mat.

"What are you doing!?"

"My sword!" he cries out to me between coughs, "It's gone!"

I look around suddenly aware that my bow and quiver were gone as well. A coughing spell hits me as it becomes harder and harder to breathe.

I rush over to the window only to discover that it too was jammed shut!

"The door!" I manage to choke out as I rush back to it, "Help…me…"

We slam against the infuriating sturdy door for what feels like hours before it finally gives way, and we tumble in to the swirling inferno that is the hallway.

"Come ON!" Jakotsu yells grabbing me by my collar. Using his sleeve as a shield as best he could, Jakotsu pushes forwards as I follow close behind. The ceiling above us cracks and pops as the fire eats away at the beams above.

We shoulder our way through the exit just as the roof caves in with a thunderous crash.

Jakotsu and I collapse to our knees side by side sucking in the cool fresh air and coughing out what smoke still lingered within us.

Jakotsu looks over to me still panting, "…YOU…"

"Oh don't you dare fucking blame this on me! If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have trapped myself in there with you!"

He continues to glare at me as I roll to my bottom. Another coughing spell hits me as he mirrors my sitting position.

I turn at the sound of Jakotsu gasping to see his own sword pressed firmly to his throat.

Renkotsu has stripped himself of his priestly garb in favor of a blue kimono top, white hakamas, orange armor, and a blue bandana.

Slowly, he raises Jakotsu to his feet as Renkotsu keeps his eyes on me, "How fortunate that you two made it out alive."

I stand as well glaring at him, "Yes, and I see you are unharmed. Can't say the same for your temple."

A dark chuckle passes his lips as he presses Jakotsu's blade tighter to his neck, "Tell me who you two are and why you're here before I slit his throat."

I stare blankly at him for a moment my breath still not back to its normal pace before crossing my arms, "First of all, what you do to him is of little consequence to me."

Jakotsu lets out a string of harsh profanities as Renkotsu's face falters a little.

"Secondly, you are the only one here who needs to do some explaining, MONK Renkotsu, if you even are one to begin with. You can either start by telling me what you did to the actual monks here or why you felt the need to burn us alive for our things."

Renkotsu tightens his grip on Jakotsu's blade as he snarls at me, "Do not take my words as an idle threat, woman. Answer my questions."

I begin to brush the dust and ash off my clothes, "Go ahead, I don't care." I say waving a dismissive hand to him, "Saves me some trouble later down the road. Hell, if you give me back my bow, it could be a team effort in silencing him up once and for all."

More profanities spew from Jakotsu.

"And anyway, I've told you before how we got here and where we're going. I just left out some parts."

"Such as?"

I sigh suddenly feeling very tired, "Such as….we…..he is a part of the mercenary group responsible for the village's destruction. We were on our way to meet up with his companion when we got lost and ended up here."

Renkotsu eyes me for a moment, "So then what is your role in all this?"

"To be a fucking traitor!"

I roll my eyes at Jakotsu," My role…is….a bit complicated."

Renkotsu is silent for a moment, "So you're a _yujo_."

Despite the danger, Jakotsu begins to laugh hysterically.

"NO! I AM NOT!" I bark taking a threatening step forwards, "I am just as much…..almost….sort of…..maybe…apart of this group as he is, and if you kill him, you're going to have to answer to our…..his….leader."

Renkotsu shoves the still laughing Jakotsu to the ground and steps towards me.

Despite the warmth spreading across my face from the indignation of how he viewed my role in the group, I keep my glare trained on him.

He places the tip of Jakotsu's sword to the center of my throat, "Take me to him."

"What?"

"Take me to this leader of yours."

"Give us back our things."

Renkotsu's eyes narrow and he growls, "You're in no position to give orders or make requests, woman."

I stand my ground, "You want to be a part of this group don't you?"

"Excuse me?"

"You wanna join us right? That's why you want to see Bankotsu. Well, I'm taking you to fuck all if I don't get my bow and quiver, and he," I flash my eyes over towards the still laughing Jakotsu, "is fucking useless without his sword. So it's either give us our things or-"

Renkotsu suddenly grabs a handful of my hair pulling me closer to him and angles the blade so that the edge now rests against my throat. I press both hands against his chest trying to pull myself free.

"OR I cut you both in half for wearing my patience thin."

My mind races as I struggle to find some way out of this that ends with me keeping my head.

"R-right…b…bu-…but you could give us our things, we take you to our….his…leader and you become second in command."

Renkotsu is deathly still, "What?"

"Yeah…..I mean, literally it's just us three. We have a leader. So that leaves just me and him. I'm a girl so clearly I can't handle such a role as second in command, and then there is…that." I flick my eyes back to Jakotsu who has devolved to shrieks and screams as he kicks his feet, "So….I mean really the position is open if you're interested."

I see Renkotsu's mind racing as he considers my proposal, "Fine." He lowers Jakotsu's blade and releases me. I take a few steps back before exhaling my breath.

"Welcome aboard."

* * *

 _Yujo_ is a term meaning 'woman of pleasure';(prostitute) based off of my research; however, I am not sure if the term would have been used for the time period that _I_ _nuyasha_ takes place in, so forgive me if it is off.

I struggled a bit with this chapter so if you have any suggestions to help my writing improve, feel free to comment!

Happy Holidays to all!


	6. Chapter 5

++++++Chapter 5+++++++

"Renkotsu is a man of few words and an extremely short fuse. A fact that Jakotsu and I quickly learned as we made our way to the town of Yabiro. The man absolutely refused to acknowledge my existence let alone my inquiries about him, and the questions he did answer from Jakotsu were either very vague or completely dismissive.

Jakotsu huffs as he travels alongside me glaring at the back of Renkotsu's head, "Not with us thirty whole minutes and already bossing us around like we're common lackeys." He directs his glare towards me, "and who gave you the right to label him second in command. Did you ever even think for once that maybe that position was already taken since I was with Bankotsu the longest?"

I shrug my shoulders, "I figured since there was only two of you to begin with, there would be no need for a second in command. I mean really, if something were to happen to Bankotsu, who would you be in charge of….yourself?"

"You of course, stupid!"

I give him an exasperated look, "I am not a murderer; therefore, I cannot be a part of your group."

"It's not murdering if you get paid to do it."

"YES IT IS!"

"No, it's called a job."

"A job where you murder people."

"Which is completely legit."

I stare at him dumbfounded, "Legit or not, murder is still murder, and I am not a murderer."

"That's not what Bankotsu said." I freeze as Jakotsu continues to walk, "he told me how you got those villagers to trust you enough to go in to the woods." He suddenly turns on his heels to reveal his pout, "That was quite mean of you two to keep me out of the loop like that. I would have enjoyed terrorizing some villagers too."

I remain silent as I try to focus on something other than Jakotsu's irritating form. My eyes flick over to Renkotsu who had stopped walking to studying my face. Our eyes meet for a second before I look away and storm past Jakotsu, purposefully running in to him. "I am not a murderer." I mutter unsure of who I was trying to convince.

The remainder of our trek was silent mostly because I refuse to speak to Jakotsu after his murder comment, and Renkotsu just refused to speak to anyone at all. We reach Yabiro right as dawn broke out across the sky, and the town began to stir with life.

We search through the relatively large town for the better half of the morning with no success in finding Bankotsu. "Are you even sure it's this town?" I ask Jakotsu as he leaves the fourth inn we came to.

"Maybe." Renkostu and I scowl at him, and he smiles as he waves a dismissive hand at us, "Calm down. Renkotsu said this was the closest village, so he's got to be here somewhere."

I continue to glower at the back of his head as we follow him to the next inn. "You should have slit his throat like I told you too when you had the chance." I murmur to Renkotsu. I see the corner of his mouth twitch slightly in what looked like a smile.

We each take turns checking inn after inn as the morning rolls by. "You would think people would remember a man carrying a huge halberd." I sigh impatiently as Renkotsu and I wait for Jakotsu to check with this current inn keeper.

"You would be surprised at what people can ignore in this age of war." Renkotsu notes with dark amusement, but the suddenness of his response catches me off guard. We focus on one another for a moment before he directs his attention back out to the street. I keep my eyes trained on him for a minute longer, "Are you really a monk?" As expected, he ignores me.

I close my eyes and lean against the wall no longer having the will to support myself. Immediately my eyes grow heavy as I being to feel my head droop. _When was the last time I actually got a good night's sleep?_ A sudden and powerful yawn shakes me awake for a moment, and I readjust myself trying to occupy my mind so that I wouldn't doze off again, but also to shake of Renkotsu's silent stares.

I shoot him an annoyed, wary look, "What?" He says nothing as he continues to assess me. Eyes traveling from the crown of my head to the tips of my toes before returning back to my flustered glowering face, "You are not allowed to do that!" I hiss.

His head tilts slightly to the side, and I step towards him.

"If you have something to say, then say it, if not keep your eyes on something else."

A short clipped laugh escapes him as he watches me a moment longer before turning away. "Insolent, _yujo."_

My body trembles as my knuckles go white around my bow.

"E-excuse me?"

"What!?" I bark glaring at the small form next to me. The little girl stumbles back from surprise as her eyes fill with tears.

I flinch at my own actions as I kneel down in front of her, "I'm sorry." I draw my hand back noticing her hesitation.

"A-are you Ya…..ya…."

"Yaruki?" I prompt and she nods. "Yes, I am."

The little girl swallows as she stands making it a point to keep some distance between us.

"Well, he's not here either." Jakotsu sighs as he steps back out to the street.

The little girl's eyes widen once more as he eyes land on Jakotsu as if fully convinced of something, "The Samurai man is looking for you and your companion." She quickly jerks her head towards Jakotsu.

I glance over to Jakotsu who looks just as confused as I am, "Samurai?"

* * *

The maid slides open the door for us, and Bankotsu looks up from his cup. He takes in our exhausted expressions, dingy clothing, and the third extra person before sighing. "Is it too much to ask for you two to stay out of trouble whenever I leave?"

I jerk my thumb at Jakotsu, "We would have been here sooner if this idiot didn't forget the name of the village."

Jakotsu glares at me, "Oh, but the fact that you had us stay with a fake monk who tried to burn us alive had absolutely no effect on our travel time, huh?"

"It wouldn't if you had just remember where the hell we were going." Our bickering ceases as Renkotsu steps forwards. The two men lock eyes, analyzing each other, and I watch as Renkotsu tries to process how one as young as Bankotsu could be considered a leader. His eyes flicker over to the massive halberd that is leaning against the wall before looking back to Bankotsu.

"And you are?"

Renkostu suddenly kneels and keeps his head low, "My name is Renkotsu. I would like to join your group, if you would have me."

"And what is it that you can do that would make you of any use to me?"

Renkotsu looks up, "I am well versed in the machinery and mechanics of this land, and I pride myself in my studies of flames and explosives."

Bankotsu's eyes widen a bit, "Explosives, huh?" He closes his eyes contemplating. "Who told you that I was even looking for people?"

"The _yujo_."

"I _SWEAR_ to god, Renkotsu…."

Bankotsu lets out a hearty laugh, "Unfortunately, she's not a whore."

"Unfortunately!?"

"She is just as much a part of my group as Jakotsu is."

Renkotsu glances over to my direction, "She did not seem so willing to admit that on our way here."

Bankotsu nods as he pours himself another cup, "Well, that's because the process to how she came under my command is questionable, but she gets the job done anyway, so you will respect her."

Renkotsu's eyes drop low as mine widen from the shock of Bankotsu's casual order. Bankotsu throws back his drink and wipes his mouth on the sleeve of his shirt, "I suppose you can stick around so I can see if you're worth anything. Honestly, it wouldn't hurt to have one more set of hands for this next job."

Jakotsu's gasps in excitement as I feel my stomach knot up. _Please not another village._ "We have another job so quickly!"

Bankotsu nods slowly catching Jakotsu's enthusiasm, "It's more like part two of the past job, but pretty much. Apparently, the lord of this land is struggling with a growing rebel group led by his previous general. The village we attacked is supposed to send a message to all the neighboring villages not to join this growing army, and now we all we have to do is take out the little 30 or so man group and bring the lord back the head of his general."

I begin to feel nauseous as I rest my forehead in the palm of my hand and slowly lower myself to the floor. _30 men against 4, what the hell is he thinking_? I hear Jakotsu give off an excited squeal, "Finally, a real challenge."

"The army managed to take hold of some land to the north of here, but at the risk of their supplies. The general is sending some men back through here to restock. I planned on having Jakotsu and Yaruki stay behind and take care of the group, but having an extra set of hands works out to our favor. Now Renkotsu and Jakotsu and stay behind while Yaruki and I head towards the General."

"And what if I wanted to stay in town versus going with you?"

A look of deep concentration crosses his face as if the idea never once occurred to him, "Well…..I guess you could stay here, but as soon as the general hears his men being attacked, he might run away to regroup at a later time. I'm going to need someone of stealth and to be honest Jakotsu nor I qualify for the job."

"And I do?"

"You killed the other lord without much noise didn't you?"

"That was completely different."

Bankotsu raises an eyebrow, "Oh? How so?"

"I…..um…." My brows furrow as I stare at the floor not fully sure myself on what I meant, "…I….what I mean is that….I don't think I can do it again."

"Of course you can." Bankotsu beams brightly reminding me of how young he really is. "That's the best thing about killing. It gets easier the more you do it. You just need a little more confidence in yourself."

"I doubt it's the confidence that she is lacking." Renkotsu says as his glare digs in to the side of my head. I bite down on my lower lip trying to focus on anything other than the three men in front of me.

I see Bankotsu nod from my peripheral, "I guess I should teach her some hand to hand skills just in case. I mean there is only so much you can do with a bow, plus it's pretty obvious what your intentions are if you are carrying around a large yumi."

I straighten my back a bit before looking over to Bankotsu, "I don't think I even agreed to come with you in the first place."

Bankotsu blinks at me confused for a minute, "Didn't you hear what I said? You're the only one stealthy enough to kill the general while I take care of the men outside. I mean yeah, I could take Jakotsu with me, but I think it would go a lot smoother if you came or at least the general wouldn't get very far with you around."

My face becomes hard as I bore in to his skull, "I know what you said. I am saying I never agreed to coming with you. Maybe I wanted to stay here and take care of the groups that is coming through here."

Bankotsu begins to laugh as he pours himself another drink. "It's cute that you still think you have a choice in these matters."

* * *

Bankotsu's punch rockets through my jaw causing my teeth to rattle. I stumble back clutching my face as a warm metallic taste fills my mouth. I spit.

The rules to sparring with Bankotsu seemed simple enough, at first. Hit him three times, and we call it a day. With only one good hit to my name, the afternoon had the nerve to pass and the late evening was setting in. I wipe the side of my mouth and sigh.

He warned he wouldn't go easy, and he wasn't kidding. Training under him was nothing like training under my father. If I needed to block, dad would tell me. Hinting with his words of an opening that I had left unguarded.

With Bankotsu, he would simply continue to strike, and not gently, that opening until I started to guard it more carefully.

If I needed more force behind my punches or if there was a move that could benefit me in battle, dad would tell me; Bankotsu would demonstrate.

Bankotsu dodges my kick with ease and slams the base of his palm to my throat, knocking me clean on my butt. I gasp as I struggle through the pain, "Come on, Yaruki. I'm starting to feel kinda bad about this."

"S-s-shut-up. I'm trying."

"Well, try harder." I rise glaring at him, "As intimidating as those are, glaring won't get you far in an actual fight."

I charge at him again, and he dodges my swing with annoying ease. He grips my arm and connects a strong punch to my abdomen knocking the wind out of me.

I double over.

"Are you even trying?" he squats down in front of me and lifts my chin up to examine my face. I manage to crack an eye open through the pain as his cobalt blues study me silently.

As much as I hate to admit it, he has very beautiful eyes. How could someone as vile and as wicked as him be blessed to have those looks too. You'd think karma would have kicked in by now and given him a grotesque scar or blinded him.

He sits back and rests his forearms on his knees waiting patiently for me to recover. That ass-hat wasn't even winded.

"W-why are you d-doing this." I stammer propping back on my elbows in an attempt to stretch out my cramping diaphragm.

"You're apart of my team. I want to make sure you can do your job and do it well. Isn't that what a leader is supposed to do?"

I angle my chin down to look at him, "Whoever said I saw you as my leader?"

He smiles choosing to take my questions seriously rather than blatant disrespect, "You did. When you agreed to follow my sword rather than to die by it." He makes his way towards me and settles next to me. I place a bit more space between us, "You agreed to follow me when you killed those villagers."

My body stiffens as I watch him casually place a blade of grass in his mouth. "That's how you get worms." I mutter and he looks over at me.

"Huh?"

"I said, you are the one who killed those villagers. Don't push your sins on to me."

He chuckles as he leans back tucking his arms behind his head and crossing his feet at the ankles, "I don't know if you've figured this out yet, Yaruki, but I thoroughly enjoy killing. Just as a singer loves to sing, a dancer loves to dance, a merchant loves to sell….I love to kill. It's a hobby, hell a passion if you will." He looks over to me, "A passion that I have perfected over the years and am very proud of." He props himself up on an elbow so that he can face me head on, "So when I tell you those villagers were dead way before they got to me, you can believe it. They died as soon as they trusted the beautiful death angel that stood before them. Promising them life and freedom…promising them an escape."

He is closer to me now, studying my face as he speaks, "I've looked in to the eyes of dead men, Yaruki. I've seen life drain from them, and I know death when I see it. When they reached me, they were already gone. Yes, their bodies were moving, but that is natural. It's instinctive. Why do you think an animal with a fatal wound continues to run? The brain has given up when the body still tries."

"I was saving them." I say firmly never breaking eye contact, "If you weren't there…..they would be saved…they would still be alive."

"But you knew I was there."

"How could I have known that?!"

"There is no way you couldn't."

"It was a careless mistake."

"But was it? Was stabbing the Lord 25 times a careless mistake? Was running an arrow through your friend's head a careless mistake."

I feel my lips tremble in rage. _How dare he! HOW FUCKING DARE HE!_

"Do you not see the growth? Three times you have killed and each time you're getting more…..comfortable with it."

I close my eyes no longer able to look at him and wishing desperately that I could shut my ears to his lies as well. I feel the cheek where he had punched me earlier begin to throb.

"I keep you around, because you have a mark on you. The same mark that rests with me and Jakotsu. You're just as blood thirsty as we are, and every day I see it banging against that strong moral compass of yours. Screaming to be let out."

My eyes snap open, "What you see," I begin in a clear strong voice, "is my father…..my friends…..my village fighting, screaming, and clawing their way out to rip you to shreds. That cage is not my moral compass, but merely my weakness, my lack of strength and knowledge to overtake you." I stand brushing myself off, "But that cage is temporary, so I will admit that I have chosen to follow you, but not as a disciple follows a master or a lackey trailing behind its leader, but as a predator following its prey."

This brings a smile to his irritating face as he rises.

"I will make this no secret." I state firmly as I take on a defensive stance, "I will kill you, Bankotsu. It will be slow. It will be painful. This is not the rantings of an angry child, but a promise from one mercenary to another."

Bankotsu charges at me. I block his kick with my forearm and spin out of his punching range.

"And if you so desire to train me to be a more effective killer, than I will happily accept without complaint."

I charge at him, and he knocks my hand away before swinging. I duck and strike back connecting the base of my palm to his throat. There was no true power behind the hit, but it catches him slightly off guard just the same.

"But for your sake," I say getting ready to play offensive once more, "you better be a damn poor teacher."

* * *

Sorry for the late update. I was sick all day yesterday with a severe migraine and could not bring myself to edit this chapter. I have done the best I can, but there may be some mistakes still. I'll most likely read through it over the week and make some edits, but I didn't want to keep ya'll waiting any longer. Hope you enjoy and feel free to comment.


	7. Chapter 6

Hello! Sorry for the month(s) long hiatus. I have been struggling with this story simply because this isn't going to be a lovely dovely romance like I originally thought it would be and I'm struggling on how to make the attraction to Bankotsu work with Yaruki's current frame of mind in a believable way. Plus, the change that I want Yaruki to go through is also giving me some problems simply because I want to make sure she changes at a believable pace. I feel like I'm doing that well right now, but that is something I'm constantly worried about. So if you have any suggestions feel free to share them. Otherwise, enjoy and I apologize if not much happened after this long break.

~Stay Caffeinated :)

++++++Chapter 6+++++++

My stomach churns slightly as we watch the small squadron go about their day shouting incomprehensible orders to one another. Our position is just far enough that the guards keeping watch in this direction could not trace our presence.

The early afternoon was quickly giving way to the late evening and by now Jakotsu and Renkotsu should have completed their half of the mission. Hopefully without unnecessary casualties, but I doubt it.

"What do you see?"

Bankotsu's voice is oddly gentle as he keeps his eyes on makeshift base. He had insisted we rest here before starting, and that has done nothing but cause the unease within me to grow in to full blow anxiety.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you see?" he repeats still not bothering to look at me.

I squint my eyes as I watch the soldiers once more, "I…..s….soldiers?"

He looks over at me face unreadable, "What kind?"

"…soldiery soldiers?"

He breathes a short laugh, "Do you know what I see?" he keeps his eyes on me waiting until certain that my attention is fully on him, "I see men who will kill us and have no remorse for it. I don't see villagers or the innocent. Just targets. Targets that will kill me if I do not kill them first."

I look back to the base the anxiety continuing to grow, "….I'll do it." I mutter watching the men move about. Pushing back the voice telling me they were, in fact, innocent. Pleading with me to remember that they too had families and loved ones somewhere.

"You don't have an option. They will kill you just like they will me, and I need to know that I can trust you to do your job."

I smirk in an attempt to hide my hesitation," Afraid to die, are we?"

He returns it with an arrogant snort, "Hardly. No one here is strong enough." His eyes take on a darker look to them as he continues to appraise me, "But if I am going to do all the work, then I'll kill everyone here. And I do mean _everyone_."

I cross my arms over my chest and close my eyes, "So this is why you brought me along. It had nothing to do with stealth."

He shakes his head and stands," No, I actually do think you can handle yourself against the general."

I stand suddenly outraged by the casual dismissal of my fears, "He's an ex-general for crying out loud! I don't stand a chance."

"Well not with that attitude you won't." He says simply resting his halberd on his shoulder. "Look, your dad didn't do half bad when training you. Yeah you're a bit shaky, but for a girl you're skills are solid."

"Geez, Thanks"

"And your fear is because you've never had a real reason to use those skills he taught you. If you can get the upper hand on him and strike first, then it won't matter how many years of training he has over you. No man is immortal, no matter how much experience he has. A single shot to the forehead will fix mortality real quick."

We begin our journey towards the base, and I chew on my lower lip still unsure.

Bankotsu looks back at me, "I'll create a diversion for you to slip in. Try to avoid being seen by the guards inside."

"I'm not cutting off his head."

Bankotsu smiles, "I'll do that part. You just kill him."

* * *

I press my back against the wall as another pair of guards rush pass. I close my eyes trying to steady my breathing as I wait. The building shakes as I could hear the screams and shouts of the valiant men outside racing to their deaths.

Who was I kidding?

Bankotsu managed to take out a good chunk of those men with one powerful swing of his halberd. Even surrounded, he stood his ground, locking blades with one man and pushing him back before cutting another clean in half.

He made it look so easy. How could I ever get to that level to challenge him? Could I even kill him?

Another tremor snaps me from my thoughts as I push off the wall and continue at a quick pace down the empty hall. I string my bow as I hear rushed footsteps coming from the corner. My arrow embeds itself deep in to the man's exposed throat.

Carefully, I drag him out of sight and take back my arrow as well as taking a long dagger from his person. I wasn't going to lie to myself by thinking I could handle his sword, but for some reason having some sort of blade on me just felt right.

My mind drifts back to that night. To the feeling of the knife cutting through flesh and organs. To the delicious rush that coursed through me.

I exhale as I wait for it to happen again, but neither the numbness nor the adrenaline came. Leaving me with nothing but the cold hard lump of fear at the pit of my stomach.

I make my way quickly down the rest of the hall where the guard had come from in the hopes that this path will lead me to the general.

"ITS JUST ONE MAN!"

My pace slows as I approach a door.

"My apologies sir, but he….he's too strong."

"WE OUTNUMBER HIM! It shouldn't matter how strong he is!"

Gently, I slide the door open and peek through. The armor coated general is gripping the window as he watches his men die below. His body trembling from rage, "The nerve of this arrogant bastard."

"We have sent word for the others to return as quickly as possible, but we have yet to hear anything back. What is our next move?"

I shift out of the way as I see the general spin around, "THE NEXT MOVE IS TO GO OUT THERE AND BRING ME HIS DAMNED HEAD!"

"Aye!"

I shift over more as the commander approaches the door. I swallow as I string my bow once more. Pulling it back, I wait fully aware at how at peace I am with this.

My arrow penetrates the commander's temple as he steps out, burying itself feather deep. He collapses, and I hear the general unsheathe his sword.

"Show yourself, coward!"

I remain silent setting my bow down and pulling the long dagger from its hiding place. I lick my lips as I inch closer to the door. _Come on out and let's get this over with._

"SHOW YOURSELF!" He charges out, his right side facing me. He turns his head at the sound of me shifting as I swing at him.

My blade bites across his shoulder. He is far taller than I originally believed. He roars swinging his blade down on me.

I shift quickly to the side and swing at him again cutting a chunk of his long black hair. I barely manage to doge the quick strikes and swings of his sword before finally seeing an opening. I duck underneath another swing of his before stepping closer and rocketing upwards to ram the long blade underneath his mask and in to the center of his throat.

His sword falls from his hand as he stumbled back a bit from shock. I watch him, surprised as well that my move actually worked. Suddenly his fist connects to side of my jaw with such power that is slams me in to the wall across the hall. I can hear him sputtering as I try to shake away the dizziness.

With my vision clearing, I see him rise with his sword in one hand while the other clutches the hilt of the knife embedded in his throat. I quickly crawl towards my bow and twist my seated self towards the general as he pulls the sword from the wall were I once was.

Loading the arrow, I wait till he turns towards me. He charges, I release. My arrow punctures his eye as the blade he ripped out of himself lodges itself into the forearm that I threw up at the last second to shield my face. I sharply suck in air as my bow falls from my hand, and I clutch my arm; the shock silencing my voice.

The general collapses face first pushing the arrow further in his head.

I pant as I continue to stare at the blade in my arm. With shaking fingers, I grab the hilt and scream as I snatch the knife out. I toss the knife to my side as I double over in pain, but also to try to stop the bleeding.

I stay in this position for quite some time before I hear footsteps. Quickly, I lift the knife up certain that it would do nothing for me against an arrow, but willing to see what I can do with it.

My body relaxes a bit as I see winded Bankotsu slow to a stop. His frenzied eyes bounce from me to the general's body as his brain sorts through the adrenaline and bloodlust coursing through him.

He pierces his halberd in to the floor splintering the wood and approaches me, roughly grabbing my arm in the process. I gasp causing him to freeze. He takes a minute to steady his breathing before continuing to examine my arm in a gentler manner.

"It's not too deep. It should heal within a week or so." His voice is coarse and hollow, and he releases my arm to walk over to the general. Ripping a piece of his clothing, he shakes it out before walking back to me. I wince as he tightens the knot around my wound. He looks up at me, face freckled with blood, and smiles, "You'll live."

* * *

"Here"

I blink suddenly seeing a cup of swirling water next to me. My eyes trace up the arm holding the small ceramic piece to land on Bankotsu who is resting his cheek in the palm of his hand that was propped on his knee. His face is blank, but his eyes hold a level of patience that I never knew a person like him could possess.

I take the cup and nod a thank you. The water has a strange smell, but I pay no attention to it as I toss it back. Regret follows immediately as the liquid burns down my throat.

I gag, choke, and spit while he laughs.

He catches the cup before it hits his face, and I glare as I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, "THAT'S NOT WATER!"

He chuckles pouring more in to the cup from the vile he hid behind him, "Never said it was."

I continue to cough up the burning liquid as he watches with a smile on his lips, "Light weight." He mutters behind the cup.

"I've never drank before!" I snap.

His eyes widen in shock, "Never?!"

"NO!"

He chuckles again as he watches me struggle, and I place my forehead on my knees. After a few moments of catching my breath, I sit up and wipe the water from my eyes. I lean back and sigh as he places another vile next to me.

"That's water."

I glare over at him before eyeing the little vile next to me. Quickly, I grab it and chug the water down. "You. Are. An. Ass." I say relishing the cool liquid coating my throat.

"How was I supposed to know you never drank?"

I reach out to hit him, but wince at the sudden pain in my forearm. Looking down, I see the bandages becoming red with fresh blood from my sudden and quick movements. I press my arm to me as I stand. "I'm going to go change these." I mutter and enter the building.

I enter the small room where we had left the spare bandages after our first mending session, swipe them up, and storm back outside tossing the poor bandages on the floor before flopping back down decidedly.

Bankotsu silently watches as I struggle to undo his infuriating tight knot with one hand while gently calling it every vile name I could think of.

"Having a bit of a struggle there are we?"

"Shut-up."

I resort to gnawing on the knot, but it still does not budge.

"I mean…..I could help."

"Or you could just go to Hell."

"Words hurt, Yaruki."

I close my eyes trying hard to fight back a laugh with pursed lips. After a minute, I decide to approach my problem in a different way by just digging under the layers as I try to pull them up and over my hand.

"You're going to cause more damage that way."

I ignore him and the growing pain as I feel the tight bandages rub across the open wound causing it to bleed more.

"Really? You would rather go through all that than just ask me for help?!"

I angle my fingernails around my forearm and away from the cut as I continue to pull the old bandages off.

"Dear god, you're stubborn."

With one final pained groan, the bandages slip off, and I grit my teeth as I wait for the pain to subside.

"I'm proud of you."

I lean back for a minute as my forearm continues to tremble from the pain, "Will you shut-up?!" I bundle the old bandages and press them firmly on my wound waiting for the blood to slow once more.

Bankotsu slides closer to me once the bleeding slows and takes my arm before I knew what was happening. I try to snatch my arm back, but wince at the pop in my wrist that his firm grip caused, "I don't need your help."

"As much fun as it is to watch you suffer and struggle, you are going to be no use to me if you can't grip your bow properly because of your pride."

I glare at him as he as he dabs my cut to get the excess blood off. He reaches behind him and picks up the vile of alcohol and my eyes go wide, "You wouldn't dare."

He looks up at me confused, "It will help clean it."

"No!" I say firmly, but he keeps his eyes locked on me as he begins to hover the vile over my cut.

"So help me, Bankotsu-" My body jerks as the burn hits every nerve in the wound, and I scream. "

"Calm down it's not that bad."

"FUCK YOU!"

"Maybe later, if you're good."

"HEY! BANKTOSU!"

We both look up to finally see Jakotsu and Renkotsu approach. His smile covers his entire face as he quickly begins to wrap my arm in fresh bandages.

"Hey! How'd it go?"

Jakotsu flops down next to him and pouts, "Boring! Those guys were pathetic!" he suddenly grabs the sack that Bankotsu had set off to the side and examines it.

It had stopped bleeding a while back ago. I turn my head away as Jakotsu lifts the bodiless head out. "Please tell me this guy was more of a challenge than his men."

Bankotsu shrugs as he tightens the knot on my bandages, "I wouldn't know. You would have to ask Yaruki."

"No Way! She killed him?!" Jakotsu eyes me suspiciously before examining the head more closely. "How?"

"I could demonstrate if you're truly curious." I say lowly and Jakotsu glares.

"Don't mind her." Banktosu says with a laugh, "Someone's just a bit cranky." He pinches my cheek as if he were speaking to a small child.

My eyes narrow, "Just so you know," I begin flatly making no other movements, "when I kill you, I'll use your blood to sweeten my tea."

Bankotsu's eye go wide for a second before narrowing seductively as he pulls me closer, "You know just what to say to get me going, huh?"

At the risk of my arm, I shove him away from me, "Pig."

"Bankotsu, Sir?"

He turns away from me still chuckling and looks to Renkotsu.

"What are we to do next?"

I keep my eyes on my tender arm examining his work as my full attention falls on his reply.

"We'll rest here for the night, then head back to the lord who hired us to collect the other half of our dues."

I hear the sound of coins and suddenly something thumps and slides in to my hip. I glance down to see a healthy sized bag before looking over to Bankotsu who's attention is back to his cup. Lifting the bag, I pour some of the coins out to examine them. Each was cold and heavy, and not worth the lives lost for them.

"Your cut from the village is also in there. Just in case you were wondering." He says casually, and I dump the coins back in before shoving them in a pocket.

I wasn't proud to take the money, but I have to eat.


	8. Chapter 7

Sorry for the super long pause with this story. I've been working on it off and on. I wasn't planning on stopping this chapter where i ended it, but i wanted to get it out for you all to enjoy. Constructive criticism is more than welcome!

There is some language in this chapter so be mindful of that.

~Enjoy

++++++Chapter 7+++++++

Word about Bankotsu and his men spread like wild fire throughout the regions, and job after job came rolling in for us. Outside of village missions, I joined in on the battles that we had; whether it be taking down a small militia or burning whole mansions to the ground.

A part of me tried to justify my actions. It tried to say that if I didn't, Bankotsu would kill me. But I no longer knew how true that was because deep down, I felt it. I couldn't pin point what exactly it was….excitement?…joy?…..pleasure?…I wasn't sure, but it was there and growing with every successful mission.

The ground trembles underneath me as I watch the flickers of embers twirl and dance around me in the smoke covered battle grounds. My eyes shift back to the two soldiers running at me in slow motion. I smile as I walk casually towards them embedding an arrow in to one before dropping my bow and pulling out my blade from the sleeve of my shirt. I stab it into his throat before aggressively pulling it in a downward slant while side stepping his own blade.

I flick the blade clean before slipping it back in to the sheath tucked against my inner forearm and allow the high to dissipate. I shut my eyes tight as I fall to my butt and rest my head to my knees.

Crashing was always the worse.

My stomach curled and twisted itself as I fought back the nausea and guilt. I hear footsteps approach, and I rest my cheek on my knees to face the person.

Renkostu's eyes were much calmer, colder after a battle. Not passionate and crazed like Bankotsu's get, but I have no doubts that his blood lust runs just as deep and as strong.

"Are you finished?" He asks simply. I turn my face away from him and nod a reply.

"I need you to assist me on a job tomorrow."

My body freezes as I process his request. Bankotsu, occasionally, allows us to do individual jobs, but I never bothered, choosing to stick with Bankotsu or Jakotsu most of the time. But for Renkotsu to openly invite me to assist him…

Now that is weird.

I turn to face him, "Why me? I'm sure Jakotsu or Bankotsu would be more willing to help."

"I need a woman for this," he begins.

I sit up a little straighter, "Oh?"

"But I suppose I will settle for you."

I hear a snort of laughter behind me, and direct my glare to Jakotsu who walks up at that moment. Standing, I brush the dirt off my bottom and fold my arms over my chest, "Soooo," I begin as I suck my teeth, "for future reference, its best to NOT insult the person you're asking assistance from BEFORE they give you their answer."

"I will take that into consideration the next time I ask for help from someone who matters. Now, will you join me or not?"

I let out a huff of disbelief as my eyes try to settle on something other than the arrogant son of a bitch in front of me. My head shakes as I struggle to come up with a proper come back, but I am at a loss. "What the fuck is the job?" I spit bitterly.

"You do not need to know all that. Simply follow my orders, remain silent, and strike when I tell you too. Anything further would just be a waste of breath." He turns and begins walking towards Bankotsu.

"I swear to god, I'll kill that man in his sleep," I snarl digging my nails into my palm.

Jakotsu rests his forearm on my shoulder and continues to laugh, "I don't know. I'm actually liking him more and more."

I dig my elbow in to his ribs.

* * *

Renkostu and I start our journey early the next morning with only Bankotsu awake to see us off. I hesitate at the door of the small hut feeling uneasy about leaving Bankotsu's side.

What if someone else manages to kill him before I get back?

I spin around pointing my bow and glaring at him in the most menacing way I could muster. "You better not die before I get back," I say in a solid firm voice.

Genuine shock flashes across his face before it returns to its neutral smug look, "Gonna miss me, are we?"

My glare falters as I tighten my grip on my bow, "N-no! I…..You…..You're mine…..to….uh….k-kill…and-"

I regret everything spewing from my mouth right now.

I let out a frustrated groan and grip my bow with both hands, "God, JUST…..SHUT UP!"

I spin around and storm past Renkotsu defeated and humiliated.

"Don't worry, Yaruki," he laughs, "I was completely intimidated by that threat. I don't sound it, but just know there is so much fear in my heart right now. I don't even know how I'm gonna get back to sleep."

My arrow narrowly misses his head, and he laughs harder.

 _Ass._

* * *

The two of us travel in silence as I struggle to keep up with his infuriating pace. _Curse tall people and their disgustingly long legs._ I manage to catch up to him and keep his pace for a moment or two before I stumble a bit and fall behind again. I let out a frustrated sigh stopping all together. "Could you please slow down a bit? We all can't be fucking giants like you."

"I am moving slow." He says flatly glaring at me.

"Well, how about a bit slower, huh?"

"How about you grow."

I puff my cheeks out at him as he continues his ridiculous stride. I contemplate embedding an arrow in the back of his shiny bald head before deciding against it and continuing my short girl shuffle.

We continue at this pace for the better half of an hour before finally coming to a village. With my sole focus on my feet, I fail to see Renkotsu stop, and I slam clean in to him. I fall flat on my butt and groan, "Give a heads up next time, geez."

"There," he begins ignoring my previous comment, "do you see that man?"

I stand and walk up next to him before scanning my eyes over the partially empty village streets. My eyes widen as I finally see the man…..or…..machine….that he was referring to. I blink rapidly trying to see if it is a mere trick of the eyes, but no. The man before us is half metal.

A metal plate completely covered his left eye and the entire lower half of his mouth. His entire right arm is all metal, and a strip of metal pushes back his fiery red hair and his armored shoulder pads are massive with spikes jetting out.

I blink again at the literal walking armory of a man, "What the fuck, Renkotsu?!"

"Not him, you idiot. That is his body guard."

Begrudgingly, my eyes move away from the metal man to the all flesh man laughing loudly as he struggled to keep himself up right. His arms were around the shoulders of two very well-endowed women as his hands discover just how endowed they really were, "L-LETS GOOOOO, GINKOTSU!"

The drunken fool practically drags the poor women with him as he stumbles his way down the road.

"Good grief, its barley into the afternoon and he's already wasted."

"Which makes things easier for us."

"Sooo, what? You want me to shoot him from here?"

"No. Do that, and it will be obvious that our employer is behind this." Renkotsu turns to me, "That is the son of a rival gang. He keeps trespassing on enemy territory to enjoy the women in the brothels here."

"What gangs?"

"That is irrelevant for you to know. Just understand that _our_ employer wishes to stress to his opponents where his territory begins and ends."

My brows furrow, "Ok, so why go through the trouble of hiring mercenaries when I'm pretty sure he has grunts to do this kind of work."

Renkotsu stares at me for a moment before sighing, "And that is why women will never be in positions of power."

"Excuse me?!"

"Think for once in your life. If our employer were to send _his_ own men after the _son_ of a rival gang, that would start a war. His businesses will suffer, the people under his protection will suffer and in turn so will his ability to make money. This is a tactic known as discretion."

"Ok, wise-ass, answer me this. If the son of a rival ends up dead in enemy territory, wouldn't that be a red damn flag for them."

"Not if he dies in an unforeseen accident in one of the brothels. Now enough questions. Keep your mouth shut and just do what I say."

"That's kind of hard to do when you don't tell me everything about this mission or what the hell your plan is." He begins to move in the direction of our target completely ignoring my statement. I roll my eyes before shuffling behind him again.

* * *

We walk through the village for the rest of the afternoon, discreetly following our target's movements and noting his level of inebriation. Finally, Renkostu nods to himself, as if satisfied from his data collecting and we begin to walk straight towards the target.

The sudden move to expose ourselves to the person we've been trailing for the better half of the day sets me in to a panic, "Uh…..Renkotsu….are you sure-"

"Shut-up, and follow."

I shut my mouth as we casually approach them. Renkotsu suddenly stops causing me to slam into him, "Watch it, you filthy _yujo!"_

I stare up at him stunned for a moment, but before I could speak, our target steps up, "H-hey! Hey!" His body wobbles over to us and he leans down to help me up. "T-t-t-t-hats….no….no way to speak to such a…p-p-p-pretty lady." He brushes some dirt off me, but his hands linger a bit too long on my ass, so I swat them away and take a step back.

Renkotsu suddenly appears between us before I could snap at the grabby son of a bitch, "Lady?!" he casts a disgusted look towards me, "As of today, she is no longer a lady. Just a filthy whore."

"FUCK YOU!"

Renkotsu's backhand knocks me back to my bottom and a grip my cheek waiting for the sting to subside, "When I say shut-up, I mean shut up."

Our target grabs Renkotsu's hands as if to stop him from hitting me. _A bit late for that, dumbass._

"D-d-d-don't you touch her…"

Renkotsu snatches his hand out of the man's grasp, "What I do with my daughter is none of your business."

 _Daughter?!_

"At least for now." Renkotsu steps forwards and snatches me to my feet by my wrist, "You have such sympathy for her, then you can come visit her at the whore house where she belongs. It's the only thing she is good for now."

Renkotsu yanks me along as he storms off and around the corner. He pushes me against the building and pins me there for a minute or two before peeking around the edge.

"Good." He mutters and turns right as my own backhand crosses his face. He catches himself and I can see the fury in his eyes, but I step up to him holding a finger to his face.

"Act or not, you touch me again and I will fuck you up!"

He stares at me for a moment as if debating. Then, he chuckles, "Fair enough. Any other requests."

I feel my blood boil at his nonchalant attitude, "Yes, actually," I fold my arms over my chest, "before we go any further, you're going to tell me what the fuck you have planned or I'm gone."

"Where you not listening, you idiot?" He steps towards me and smiles, "You're going to be a whore."

* * *

I grind my teeth together as I watch the tall slender Madame of the house circle me like a vulture. Time had obviously not been kind to her, but there were trace evidence of a long past beauty in the features of her face. Quietly, taps her closed fan on her powered chin as she stops in front of me.

"And you say she is no longer a maid?"

My eyes shift over to my 'father' who was leaning against the wall arms folded.

"No."

"How many men have you been with, girl?"

I glance back to Renkotsu before looking back at the Madame, "Just one." I say per our story.

She huffs, "No use in being modest now child. Tell me the truth because I will find out eventually."

I narrow my eyes, "Just. One." I say firmly and her fan cuts sharply across my face causing me to stumble back some.

"Mind your tone, you little bitch."

I hold my cheek as I glare at the tried hag in front of me.

 _…..I'm getting real sick of people slapping me in the face today._

"If you wish for me to do anything with this hopeless case, I suggest you teach her proper manners."

"Is that not your job?"

The Madame glares at Renkotsu, "No! It's not. Especially for a no-ass and barely-there-tits whore like this one."

 _This. Bitch._

Renkotsu pushes himself off the wall, "So then I will take her elsewhere."

"Wait!"

He pauses, his hand on my upper arm.

"I said she was hopeless as a regular whore, but we could working something out in terms of a one night auction. If she truly has been with only one man, then she may still pass as a maid, and we can fetch a high price for her. She's still young, and after the fees, your cut of it will be enough to cover your debts with some comfort left over. But what I won't stand for, is her disrespect. Fix that, and I will consider working with you."

The door slams shut behind her and Renkotsu grip on my arm tightens immensely. He yanks me closer to him, "If you mess this up, I will sell you to her for next to nothing, and excuse your absence to Bankotsu as an accidental death."

I glare over at him, but say nothing.

He releases me and follows behind the tired hag leaving me in the room alone. I move to the wall and lean against it trying to calm myself down. "Just make it through this, Yaruki, and never work with this bastard again." I exhale and slide down to a seated position. I pull my knees to my chest and rest my forehead on them as a small laugh escapes me.

 _"Hey dad, guess what? I'm in a whore house….pretending to be a whore….to kill a man…aren't you proud of me? Of who I've become?"_

I lean my head back and close my eyes.

 _Don't worry, Dad. I kill only those who plan to kill me first. They are giving me no other option. That lord deserved it. Bankotsu and Jakotsu deserve it. Even Renkotsu is earning his fair share of deserving it. The villagers weren't my fault. Kiku….she was an accident too….. So….I'm still ok….I'm still good._

I feel a small tear run down my cheek.

 _I am a good person…..right, Dad?_

* * *

A hard kick to my side startles me awake and I glare up at Renkotsu. He roughly grabs me by my arms and pulls me up. "Give me your knife."

"Fuck you."

His grip tightens and I wince.

"Fine, fine. Let go!"

He does and I pull my sleeve up some and remove the very simple holster from my forearm. Another "gift" from Bankotsu _"to celebrate my first kill as a hired mercenary"._ I inwardly scoff as I look at the holster with my blade in it.

My grip suddenly tightens as I feel Renkotsu try to snatch it away from me. He glares at me, and I release it into his possession, suddenly feeling very bereft. "When this is all over, you better give it and my yumi back."

"They will check you and prepare you for this evening. During the auction, just sit there and try to look appealing. I will do my best to keep other bidders from out bidding him. He will take you to the room where you need to keep him preoccupied long enough for me to set this place on fire."

"WHAT?!"

Renkotsu slaps his hand over my mouth, "Shut-up!" He waits for a moment listening to see if my outcry caused any unwanted attention.

"This brothel is drowning." he begins in a hushed voice, "Why do you think she was still so willing to take you despite you being less than adequate?"

I glare at him.

"Our employer had plans to get rid of this place earlier, but decided to use it as an excuse to teach the son a lesson on trespassing in rival territories. You will keep him preoccupied long enough for myself and the metal man, Ginkotsu, to set up the "accident".

I muffle a response and he carefully lifts his hand.

"1. Fuck you, I'm gorgeous. 2. I thought you said the metal man was his body guard, why the hell would he help us kill his employer's son."

"Money buys loyalty. Plus, I promised him a spot in the group."

"That was bold."

"I doubt Bankostu will have an issue with a walking armory as the newest member."

I roll my eyes unable to disagree with that logic, "Ok, but what the hell am I supposed to do while you and Mr. Metal set this place ablaze, and more importantly HOW THE HELL WILL _I_ ESCAPE AFTERWARDS!?" I struggled to keep my voice in a strangled whisper at the end of my sentence as I remembered the last Renkotsu fire I had the displeasure of experiencing.

Renkotsu's eyes narrow, "Get creative."

I open my mouth to retort when the door opens again and the Madame followed by two comely looking maids come in.

"Have we learned our place yet?"

I glare at Renkostu who refuses to look at me before trying to contort my face in to a look of humility despite my rage. I bow to her, "Please forgive my boldness earlier, Ma'am. I greatly appreciate the sacrifice you are suffering for my sake."

The hag snorts in amusement, "You are absolutely right, this is a great sacrifice. What with the clothes, make-up, scented oils, and such to make you more appealing. Do you know the estimated amount I will get for you—not including the cut your father will receive—won't even cover the cost of the scented oils. This truly is a great sacrifice, and not a wise business deal on my part." She flings open her fan and begins to fan herself as her eyes fall to Renkotsu again, only this time….they were more…flirty, "But your father assures me that it will all come out to my benefit in the end, and it better."

"Yes, ma'am." I say trying hard to hide my amusement by keeping my head low and my lips pursed.

She looks Renkotsu up and down for a moment as if pleased at what she sees, "Perhaps I should hire you to properly discipline my other girls."

I cough to hide a laugh.

I catch his side glare and throw him back a raised eye brow and a smirk, "I am flattered," he begins, "but perhaps we should focus on the matter at hand."

"Of course, of course. Girls, take _this one_ " she flicks her fan in my direction, "to the doctor so she can be checked. Afterwards, get her prepared for auction. We don't have much time and until we get final word from the doctor, don't use any of the really good stuff."

The maids bow and begin to usher me out of the room.

"Wait! Check for what?"

The hag scowls, "What else would I waste my time checking a whore for?"

* * *

Within the hour, I was felt up in places my not even my own fingers have been before, scrubbed, scoured, plucked, brushed, painted, and clothed. To say that I was furious at Renkotsu would be a severe understatement, and a part of me wanted nothing more than to strangle that fat bald head of his.

The maids lead me to a viewing window where I would sit until the auction. Like a roasted pig on display at a butchers.

Carefully, so as to not receive another glare from an older maid in charge of watching me, I lean over to read the sign placed under me for all passersby to see.

 _Madame Jade Presents:_

 _The Lotus Auction of the supple young bride_

 _Mahime_

My face contorts in to a look of utter disgust earning me a sharp pinch from the elderly maid. Quickly, a smile reappears on my lips as I continue to stare out in to the street.

The hardest thing about all this, were the people. Women would either avoid their gaze or look upon me with full disgust. Young awkward boys would giggle and try to touch me before being shooed away by the maid, little girls would look up at me in awe at "how pretty" I am before mothers snatch them back and reprimanded them for glorifying "such a vile creature".

But the men…..the men were the worst.

As the evening turned to night, more of them began to appear at the house, stopping shortly to read the sign and appraise me. Some were pleased noting how lovely my face was or that "my tits were just right", others frowned stating "I looked too much like their daughter" or how that "the women in these auctions were never really Lotus flowers, just tight enough to pass as one". One pig even goes as far as to say he needed "more than sake cup breast".

I spit at him for that and the crowd laughs. The maid stands between me and the enraged villager until a bouncer arrives to take him away.

 _Not that it really matters, but my breast are at least rice bowls, damn it._

* * *

I exhale as I continue to stare out at the slowly emptying street. I could hear a swirl of music, male laughter, and giggling women as the house began to pick up business. I begin to work a kink out of my neck as I hear a set of footsteps approach. Looking up again, my eyes fall on a very small traveler clad in all white with what appears to be a square basket on his back. He pace is casual and unhurried as his eyes shift towards me.

Then, and almost comically, his entire body freezes mid-step. His eyes scan the sign then shifts to me. The white flap shields any of his facial features from me outside of his eyes which had red tattoos around them.

We stare at one another for quite some time when suddenly, he appears in front of me. I jump back as a small gasp escapes me, and struggle to keep my smile.

"She….she….SHE'S PERFECT!"

The maid and I share an uneasy glance as she clears her throat, "Good evening, sir. If you are interested in our latest girl, please come in. The auction will start very soon.

His eyes glance down at the sign once more, "Mahime….GEHEHEHEHEHE….OH how lovely you are my pretty bride~~"

My smile drops and for once, the maid doesn't pinch me for it.

"Can she speak?" He asks not taking his eyes off of me.

"Well, normally, yes, but this particular girl has lost her privileges to interact with the customers."

"Oooooooh~~ Have we been a naughty girl today? Gehehehehehehe"

Heavy steps distract me from the little freak and on to the half-metal man from earlier. He stops in front of me and my breath catches in my throat as I take in how truly massive the man is up close.

"Hey, what's the holdup Ginkotsu? See something you-"

Our target appears next to the massive metal man and he stops short once his eyes land on me. He sways slightly indicating some level of intoxication, but surprisingly he seemed more sober then last I saw him.

His eyes narrow a bit as he steps closer to me as if assessing me before his eyes widen in realization, "Ooh! H-hey! You're that girl with the ass father." He shoves the little man off to the side as he continues his approach. He lets out a low whistle, "You clean up real good, don't cha?"

My body stiffens as I watch a dark smile form over his face.

 _Don't touch me. Don't fucking touch me!_

He reaches his hand out towards me "Real good….yeah…" he nods as if some invisible person was giving him the greatest idea in the world, "…I'm buying her….."

"WHAT! No! SHE'S MINE!"

The target freezes for a moment before looking around for the voice. Eventually he looks down and laughs, "That's real cute, kid. But you wouldn't know what to do with all that anyway." He shoves the tiny man further back causing him to fall to his butt before turning his attention back to me.

His hand caresses my knee, but before I could react, the maid quickly swats him away only to have her face pale once her mind caught up with her reflexes.

"I….I….I'm so sorry, sir… b-but please….please refrain from touching the girls."

The man looks at the hand the she struck almost in wonder. "Did you really just touch me?"

I glance over at the maid to see her shaking, "I…I'm sorry-" she begins.

"Do you have any idea who I am?"

"An entitled piece of shit."

The maid gasps as all eyes land on me.

 _Fuck me and my mouth!_

"Am I now?"

The little man begins to laugh and the target glares at him, "Ginkotsu, take care of the ant for me please, while I teach this slick mouth bitch some respect."

"Get up now!" the maid whispers and I immediately obey.

"Gesh"

The massive metal man turns towards the creeper who quickly stands and darts inside the brothel before Mr. Metal could get close to him.

"Go!" the maid shoves me off the back of the platform and towards the door before the man snatches her back to him.

She screams, but its cut short when he presses his blade to her throat.

I turn and watch her form tremble under his tight grip. Her eyes shut tight as she waits for the inevitable. She lets out a shaky breath as she tries to resign herself to her fate.

I inhale and exhale loudly before stepping back on to the platform.

Her eyes snap open, "No! Run!"

"Do you want to die?" I ask her flatly.

"W-what?"

"Do. You. WANT. To. Die? Because that's what's gonna happen if I leave."

I hop off the other side of the platform so that I am standing in front of the both of them, "Do you want me to save you?"

The man begins to laugh, "How cute. A whore thinks she can stop-"

"Shut the fuck up before you piss me off."

I hear his voice catch in his throat as our eyes lock, "No one is speaking to you right now, so be a good little boy and shut-up."

I slide my eyes back to the maid who looks at me with an expression awe and fear as if I had transformed in some way in to a creature both terrifying and beautiful.

"Do you want to die?"

"N-n-no…..no!"

I nod and look towards the man, "Well, you heard her. Let her go."

His face twitches in irritation, "You fucking bitch! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE! I'm so sick of you spoiled whores! Bitches need to remember their fucking places."

"I'll find mine when you find yours."

He throws the maid down in rage and charges at me knife at the ready.

I smile, "Cute."

I dodge his swipes with ease realizing he was no different from the trained soldiers I've fought and killed the past. Not to mention he was nothing compared to Bankotsu. In fact, I started to feel bad for him. Dodging another feeble attempt to stab me, I grabbed his wrist and snapped it back causing him to drop the blade. He lets out a pained cry as he falls to his knees in front of me clutching his wrist.

I roll my eyes as I watch him writhe in pain, "Oh, come on. I barely touched you. It's a sprain at best."

As if to counter my argument, he holds up his hand to demonstrate the freakishly odd angle it was it in.

"…Oh! oooooh….shit…..uhhh….sorry?"

I look down at my hands as if they were someone else's, "Huh….I guess his training actually is paying off….go figure."

I feel someone snatching me backwards and over the platform. "Go! Go now!" the maid barks as she pushes me through the door and slams it shut behind her.

We stand in silence for a moment as I continue to inspect my hands still not believing what they were capable of.

"….Thank you"

I look up at her and smile, "It's no prob-"

"But you should not have done that."

She turns and her face is ghostly pale, "You really should not have done that."

* * *

Like I said, there is another half to this chapter, but I wanted to get something out for you guys. Again, sorry for the freakishly long wait.


	9. Chapter 8

Here is the next update! I tried to fix as many issues as I can so let me know if you spot anything. Also, **THERE ARE SOME VIOLENT SCENES AND LANGUAGE!** **READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!**

~Stay Caffeinated 3~

* * *

~Chp. 8~

Renkotsu suddenly barges in to the small dressing room scaring the living crap out of me.

"What. Did. You. Do!?"

I hold my hands out to him as if that would stop his enraged charge, "I sense that you are angry, and I acknowledge your feelings, but tempers will get us no where right now."

"The auction has been called off!" he hisses through gritted teeth as he continues to approach me.

I quickly rise and move about the room to create some space between us, "Ok…I admit….I may have….messed up a bit."

"A bit? A BIT!" He snarls closing in the gap with incredible speed before grabbing me by the collar and slamming me to a wall, "YOU BROKE HIS FUCKING WRIST!"

"But….BUT! In my defense…it was an accident."

I watch as his already frighteningly tiny pupils become even smaller, "So then by your logic, if I were to break your neck, I can simply tell Bankotsu that it was an accident."

"No…..you'd have to apologize first."

"IS THIS A FUCKING JOKE TO YOU!?"

An involuntary 'heuck!' escapes me as he slams me against the wall…..and again, followed by three more times for good measure.

My head swirls and my hands tremble against his in my failed attempts to get him to stop.

"Easy there, daddy dear. We wouldn't want to damage the goods before her big night."

Keeping me pinned to the wall, Renkotsu turns slightly to see an oddly elated Madame approach with what I can only described as a skip to her step. She flashes him a bright flirty smile before placing a hand on his to lower me to the ground.

She pushes the stunned Renkotsu back slightly and allows to me clingy to her for balance as I wait for the daze to subside.

She then begins to fix my disheveled appearance, "Yes, granted she did ruin what could have been a very profitable auction for me, but," She sighs as she takes a step back to appraise her work, "I can forgive it seeing as I just made more off of her this way than I could have ever imagined making with an auction."

She turns to Renkotsu, "Men lose all sense of reason when they are enraged." She gives off what would have been an attractive giggle…had she been attractive.

She opens her fan to hide the lower half of her face as she makes her way to the exit, "If I were a religious woman," she begins stopping short at the door, "I'd be praying for your very soul right now, but, luckily, I am a business woman and I just milked that idiot for every last cent he has." She lets out a hard laugh, and I glare at the back of her head.

I bet my life that if she turns around now, her eyes would be gold coins as she calculates her earnings from me.

She collects herself and opens the door, "Of course, daddy dearest, you won't have much of a daughter after tonight….assuming she survives it. You may want to consider putting some of your earnings to the side for nice funeral or I could just give you a spot on my property where I keep the other dead whores."

The door shuts behind her drowning out her laughter, and I lean against the wall,

"Give me back my blade." I voice after a moment of complete silence.

He scowls, "For what?"

I exhale, "Are we really doing this? Did you not just hear what the old hag said? I'm going to need something until you manage to set this place ablaze. You're seriously not going to leave me in that room unarmed, are you?"

"The plan stays as it is. It is not my fault that you made things harder on yourself than necessary."

I stare at him as a violent twitch hits my eye.

 ** _'….3'_**

"Alright, I get it. I fucked this up. I didn't follow your vague ass orders, I acted on impulse, and I fucked this up, but I did what I did because he was threatening an innocent woman. And in all honesty, it still worked out to our favor because now he is more determined than ever on having me in that fucking room with him. Sooooooo, I feel I made this shitty ass half-baked plan of yours better."

Renkotsu chuckles as he folds his arms across his chest, "Perhaps this is a deserved lesson for you to remember your place in life. Traveling with Bankotsu has filled you with a false sense of entitlement that he refuses to correct."

Another twitch hits me.

 _' **…2'**_

Something in me begins to bubble and churn shaking the very core of my being like an unwatched pot. I feel my blood surging through body filling my ears with that hard deafening pulse, but this time….. this time…..it's different somehow.

There is no lag in time as I come to expect and appreciate. No feeling of invulnerability that fills me when the sound appears. No…now…..now…..

…something is burning.

"So," I finally begin, eyes closed in an attempt to keep myself calm, "So….according to you…. I deserve to be brutally raped and possibly killed because I…." I chuckle," …..Because I refused to be the 'yujo' you so desperately want me to be?'

He quickly approaches grabs me roughly by the color of my kimono, "Do not flatter yourself."

I laugh, "Really…..I'm 'flattering' myself now? Well, how else can you possibly explain your absolute fascination of me being a whore? Look where we are. Look at what you're doing to me."

I laugh a little longer this time, "'Flattering myself'…..no….you're just a pathetic man who knows he could only get the attentions of a woman through the paid services of a whore."

A sharp gasp escapes me as his hand encloses around my throat instantly cutting off my next breath.

I claw at his arm, choking and sputtering as he lifts me off the ground just enough so that my feet dangle. See that clawing his arm brought no results, I swipe at his face. He tilts back just enough so that I am out of range.

"Ten seconds. That's all it takes until you pass out."

My vision becomes blurred.

"From there, I can just keep holding on until you're good and dead, or I can let you go, you wake up ten seconds later, and I repeat the process until I get bored."

My arms begin to grow weak.

"8…9…."

Everything goes black.

* * *

 _~My eyes open to a warm light. In the distance I can make out two sitting forms. Their backs were to me, but I could hear laughter. Carefully, I stand. My feet make no sound as I begin my approach squinting my eyes at one form whose armor seemed so familiar._

 _I freeze, eye widening, as the realization comes to me._

 _'Daddy?'_

 _My father drapes his arms around the other form….a woman….pulling her close to him. I hear her gentle laugh, and my eyes sting._

 _'M…mom?'_

 _I break out in to a run tears streaming down my face, 'HEY! HEY! MOM! DAD!'_

 _I grit my teeth as I pick up speed, 'PLEASE! MOM! DAD!'_

 _I run harder, their forms becoming clearer and clearer. I begin to laugh as the tears continue to run down my cheeks, 'MOM! DAD!'_

 _My father turns and smiles at me._

 _I smile back and reach out to him, 'DADDY!'_

 _Something cold latches on to my ankle. Our finger tips brush as I fall to ground and the force begins dragging me back._

 _I kick and scream as I claw at the ground. My father chasing after me. His hand still out and open for me._

 _I push my body up slapping my hand into his and he grips me tight. I clamp my other hand to his forearm as I try to kick the person off me with my free leg._

 _The force pulls and tugs, and my father strains against it._

 _My grip begins to slip, and I cry out._

 _He continues to pull, but I feel his grip giving way._

 _'PLEASE! PLEASE DON'T LET GO!_

 _The force pulls one last time, and I slip from his hands._

 _"DAAAAAAAAAD!'_

 _It drags me back with a blinding speed. Away from the light….the warmth…..my family…_

 _I land hard on my back in a sea of cold black nothingness. My tears being the only warmth I feel and my sobs the only sound._

 _I sit up trying to catch my breath. Trying to recover, but I lose it. How close I was to my family and how easily it was to, once again, pull me away from them._

 _I begin to cry uncontrollably in to my knees._

 _"I just wanna go home." I sob hugging tighter to me knees, "I just want my dad."_

 _**Shhhhhh**_

 _A cold hand finds its way to my back halting my tears immediately and lodging my sobs in my throat._

 _**Hush, now** it whispers **There's no time for that**_

 _I freeze, not at the fact that the hand began to stroke the back of my head, but at the voice._

 _At my voice._

 _**There is too much to do**_

 _I feel another hand rest its self of my cheek and slowly it turns my head._

 _I scream at the sight and push it….her….me…..away._

 _Blood coats her. Her face streaked with it. Her body darkened by it. Dark blue veins straining against her translucent skin on either side of her pale violet eyes._

 _She smiles._

 _**You cannot die. Not yet**_

 _I try to put some more space between us, but she violently yanks me back to her._

 _**I WONT allow it!**_

 _She grabs hold of my throat and I struggle to break free from her grasp._

 _She pushes me to my back._

 _**They must pay! They must suffer!**_

 _Her face inches closer to mine._

 _Is this truly me? Is this who I am becoming?_

 _**We are not afraid.** she says softly, ** WE ARE FURIOUS!**_

 _She connects her lips to mine and the burning sensation within me intensifies._

 _**SHOW THEM YOUR RAGE!**_

 _I kiss her back._

 ** _'..1'_**

* * *

I inhale deeply as my eyes open up to the ceiling. I lie there for a moment sucking in one breath after another when I feel a hand rest against my arm. In one fluid motion, I rise, snatching the arm towards me, latching my free hand to the person's throat and begin to squeeze.

The maid sputters under my grip as she tries to pull me off with her free hand. Oddly, I watch her struggle for a moment before gradually relaxing my hold on her throat but never removing it.

I can feel every muscle twitch and spasm beneath my skin as I take in how quiet the room is save the small pockets of air that tremble out of the maid's mouth.

"Where is my 'father'?" I note how eerily calm my voice is belying the absolute rage I felt coursing through my body.

"H….he….said to wait here…..a-a-and that if you woke….t-t-to take you to the room. I-I-I'm sorry….I….I didn't mean to startle you.''

"I wasn't startled." I say looking way from her and struggling to get use to my own voice. It wasn't different….but it didn't feel like mine.

We sit in silence for a moment as I tried to collect myself.

 _If I woke? IF I WOKE!?_ That son of a bitch tried to kill me…he tried to kill me and then ran away like the filthy fucking coward he is.

"Do you have a knife?" I ask darkly turning to her.

Her eyes go wide, "No, please….I'm sorry!"

My face scrunches in annoyed confusion before realizing that my hand remains on her throat although I wasn't choking her.

"Oh…sorry." I didn't believe my own apology as I remove my hand. "No….not for you. Do you have a knife?"

The maid scoots back before shaking her head no.

"Go fetch me one.".

"I-I'm supposed to-"

"We will go to the room _after_ you bring me a knife."

"B-b-but your father said-"

My eyes narrow at her, "What is your name?"

"K-Ko"

"Ko…if you make me repeat myself again, that knife will be meant for you as well."

The maid quickly stands and rushes out the door.

* * *

Finally armed with a decent sized cooking knife sharpened to perfection, I silently follow Ko to the servicing room.

She slides the door open for me, and I pause before entering, "You need to leave." I begin, "You need to leave this place now, or you'll burn with the rest of them." I glance over at her and see her face pale. "Just thought I'd warn you." I step through and shut the door firmly behind me.

* * *

I glance around the room taking in its simplicity despite the status of this customer. "Either the madam really did screwed him on this room or he really is stupid when angry." I shrug not caring either way and begin my task of cutting the covers as best I could in to manageable strips.

* * *

The door finally opens with a slam as I finish braiding down the last cord, and I turn to greet him. My eyes narrow a bit in irritation as I stare at the bodies of two-for lack of a better word- lackeys flanking the man's sides.

I sigh, "Well this is embarrassing…." I mutter to myself recounting the braids as if they would multiply on their own to handle two more men. I shake my head coming to terms that I am under resourced and stand.

The man steps forwards, and I note that his arm is tucked under the topmost flap of his kimono top. I can make out the straps of a sling around his neck.

"Doesn't hurt to much does it?" I ask with a slight chuckle.

He glares at me, and I turn my attention to his company. I catch one of the lackeys jamming something into the door and pulls at it quietly to ensure that it doesn't open.

I smile.

"If I'd known I'd be entertaining three men, I would have made more ropes." I hold up one of my long braided cords to demonstrate and continue to smile.

"Ropes?"

"Yeah," I say seductively, "for a little 'extra' fun."

"That's cute," the man says as he signals and the men step forward, "but they aren't here for the 'fun'. I brought them to repay you for my wrist."

I place a hand on my chest as if touched by his remark, "Awww, well thank you, but no payments are necessary. I was more than happy to do it free of charge. In fact, that other hand is looking a bit too mobile if you ask me. I can give you a matching pair if you'd like." I smirk and wink at him, and his face flusters in rage.

"Start with her wrists" he says darkly, "and don't stop until she's begging for death."

The lackeys approach with twisted smiles on their faces.

"Just so you know," I begin as I casually inspect the rope in my hand, "the brutality to which I am going to use to kill the both of you should not be taken personally." I wrap one end of the rope around my hand, "I've just had a really shitty day today."

The first one charges at me. Once in range, I fling the rope out and slap him across the face. He stumbles to a knee in shock at the sharp sting from something as simple as braided rope, and I bring the rope down again with more force.

I proceed to beat the man with the rope for a few seconds until he manages to grab hold of it. I quickly unravel my hand and pull the blade from the makeshift holder in my sleeve. The lackey stares at the armless rope baffled for only a moment before looking up as I bring the blade down in to his eye.

He screams.

I grab a handful of his hair and rip the blade out before reinserting it in to his neck. I feel a dark smile spread over my lips as I drag the blade in a downwards diagonal motion allowing the blood to pool beneath us.

I push him from me, and he lands on his back with a solid thud.

I flick the blade clean as the second one charges at me. This one is faster and a lucky swing connects knocking me off balance. He follows it with a solid hit to my stomach. I drop the knife and fall to my knees.

He grabs a handful of my hair and connects three more punches to the side of my face before letting me fall to my side.

"Stupid little slut!"

He reaches for my head again, and I use the opportunity to grab hold of his arm. I snatch my blade up and ram it in the center of his wrist. He screams, and I yank it free by cutting through to the side causing him to scream louder.

I pull his arm towards me causing him to fall forwards and as he approaches me, I run the blade in to his temple. He lands on me, and I watch as his face jerks and twitches before growing still.

I push him off and stand.

I exhale as I bush myself off a bit. I could hear the man struggle with the jammed door.

"HELP! GET ME OUT! HELP!"

"NO STOP!" I scream as I reach towards the second lackey, "PLEASE STOP! YOU'RE HURTING ME! AHHHHH, PLEASE." I pull the blade out and fling it clean, "NO, GOD NO PLEASE!"

I rush towards him.

"HELP!" He screams

"HELP!" I scream louder drowning him out.

I snatch him away from the door and press the blade to his throat halting his next scream.

"SOMEONE HELP ME! HE'S HURTING ME! PLEASE!" I yell out loud, "say one more thing," I whisper softly in his ear, "and I'll cut your tongue out. Am I clear?"

He gives me a trembling nod.

"Good boy."

I let out a blood curling scream as I break his other wrist. My scream drowns his out and I throw him to the floor.

"YOU FUCKING BITCH!"

I nod in approval, "That one actually works so I'll let it slide."

I leave him to writhe in pain as I walk over to grab my ropes.

"You're gonna fucking pay for this" I hear him whimper from behind me, "My…my father will make you fucking pay."

"Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, someone is about to lose their tongue privileges."

I stand, ropes in hand, and make my way back to him. He tries to move away, but I grab a hold of his ankle and yank him towards me.

"What's your name?" I ask simply as I begin to bind his feet together.

"Fuck you, you crazy bitch."

I throw my hand out and grab his face squeezing his cheeks so his lips pucker. I flash the blood stained blade in front of his face.

"Tongue!" I bark.

He shakes his head no and whimpers.

"Either stick it out or I'll carve it out. Your choice."

After a few seconds of no response, I move my hand from his cheeks and grab hold of his lower lip. In a fluid motion, I slice it off.

I scream to drown out his scream, and I grab his now bloodied face, "Tongue!" I command again.

"Hlease…..hlease don't…"

I feel my face scrunch in disgust as I look at his bloody snotty face. He breathing is weak and his body trembles with each exhale. "My name is Yaruki." I finally say, " I want you to remember it."

I tap my blade against his exposed bloody row of lower teeth, " I also want you to remember this kindness because if you call me out of my name one more time," I tap a little harder on one tooth, "I will not be so merciful."

I move back down and finish binding his feet. I grab the next rope and reach for his arms. He lets out a pained cry as I pull his arm from its sling.

I roll him over to his stomach and throw his arms behind him. He lets out another pained cry, "I want to explain something to you." I say softly as I proceed to bind his arms together.

"I am not proud of what I am about to do to you. I take no pleasure in this. This is not who I am." I tighten the ropes just to hear him cry out again. I flip him on to his back and he lands on his wrists.

I drown out another one of his screams with my own.

"But…..I need to do this….. or else I'll go mad." I grab his face once more, "Open."

He whimpers.

"I'm not going to take your tongue…..not now anyway. Open."

He complies, and I place the final cord between his teeth and tie it tightly behind his head.

"Have you ever been angry?" I ask looking him in the eyes, "I don't mean upset or irritated, but truly enrage. To the point where you just…you just want to…..to…." I stab the blade in to his upper arm and a muffled scream escapes him, "to do that." I say in a breathy manner, "to just do that **over** and **over** and **over**." I pull the blade out again.

"That's where I am right now…..." My vision becomes blurred with tears, "and I hate it…." a sob escapes me, "I don't want to do this, but I…..I….have no choice….." I grab hold of the arm I stabbed and squeeze it as hard as I can.

Another muffled scream.

"I need someone to feel what I am feeling…..I need you to suffer with me."

I let go and watch as tears fall down his face.

I place my hand on his cheek and he flinches, "This will not be fast." I push the blade into another part of his body, "This will not be painless." I find another spot, "You will die a slow and agonizing death."

More muffled screams with hard stifled sobs sound.

"….and for that…I am sorry."

I press my lips to his for head as my blade finds another soft fleshy part.

 _"Let us begin."_

* * *

 **MUKOSTU'S POV**

 _"You stupid, stupid fool_!" I scold at myself as I stumble though the smoke laden halls of the brothel trying feel my way to an exit. _"No woman is worth this! She would of have certainly rejected you moment she saw your face. And now here you are, dying in a whore fire for some slut!_ " Another explosion rocks the building, and I collapse to my knees to weak from the lack of air and practically blinded by the smoke.

I let out another wheezing cough. _'No, it can't end like this!'_ My hands tremble as I feel the tears well up in my eyes. _'I admit I was not a good man, but I don't deserve this!'_

The wood of the building gives way somewhere down the hall and a gust of smoke and heat knocks me back as it swirls through the building looking for an escape as well.

 _'I don't want to die!'_ "h….h….help!" I manage to rasp out, but I doubt anyone could hear over the roars of the flames.

"p….please…..i….i don't want…to…to die…"

I sense a presence to the side of me and quickly snatch my hand out to grab them, "p….please….h…help."

The figure stops, and I try to see through the smoke, but it was futile. I let out another deathly hack and cling tighter to their clothing. _'They will save me damn it! I deserve to be saved!'_

Finally, I feel them step closer and kneel allowing me to catch a glimpse of their face.

It is her.

My angel….My Mahime…..

Her blood splattered face seems to give off an eerie glow as her violet eyes bore in to mine.

"P-please….h-help…"

I reach up and place a hand on her cheek. She stares at me for a moment longer before nodding.

* * *

I cling to the back of her as she powers her way through the smoke and flames. My legs are wrapped around her waist, my face is buried her long soft black hair. She smells of blood and perspiration and it turns me on.

I hope she can feel _me_ as I continue to press and shift against her back.

Finally, we make it out in to the fresh air, and I feel her support under me disappear. My grip around her throat tightens to the point of strangulation as I struggle to get my legs back around her waist.

No….I want to stay like this for a little while longer…..I was almost finished…..

She struggles to get my grip free before stopping.

My breathing grows heavier as I continue to shift and move against her.

Suddenly, she jumps up and falls backwards slamming me so hard against the ground that it knocks the wind out of me, and my grip loosens.

She rolls away and stands.

I struggle to get the air back into my lungs, and she stands over me. I see her lift a leg up and bring it down.

The pain to my groin causes me to black out.

* * *

 **YARUKI'S POV**

I stare down at the disgusting unconscious creep contemplating slitting his throat as well.

Scowling, I decide that enough of that has been done for today and settle on another hard kick to the groin. I spit in the creep's face for good measure, "I should have let you burn." I say softly before turning away from him.

"YOU! THIS IS YOUR FAULT!"

The Madame approaches me and cuts her hand across my face, "You filthy little slut!" She slaps me again on my other cheek only this time her nails dig in to my skin. I flick my arm down to the ground and the blade frees itself from its resting place against my forearm.

I swing the knife across her face slicing her eyes and the bridge of her nose.

She screams clutching her face.

I grab hold of her hair and snatch her head back to expose her throat. Placing the blade against it, she immediately silences. I watch as the blood runs down her face like tears.

"Where is my 'father'?"

"H-he stole from me…..took the metal man…and….and…left…right as the building caught fire….."

"Did he say where is was going?"

She swallows, "Not to me….but….but I over-heard him talking….talking with the metal man…..they were….were meeting his brother…..his big brother…."

I frowned.

Sometime ago, Renkotsu developed this annoying habit of referring to Bankotsu as 'big brother'. It immediately became a thing among the three men and every time it happened, Bankotsu would become even more arrogant than he already was.

Even Jakotsu would occasionally call him big brother, although he would only really do it whenever we were alone together since he knew it irritated me so.

Normally, he would simply refer to Bankotsu by name.

"Where?"

"I…I don't know."

I press the blade harder against her throat, "Don't lie to me."

"Please…I…don't know…"

"Which way did he go?"

"East….he went east."

"What's the closest village east of here?"

"J-jin….j-jin…..Jinje village."

I pull her closer to me, "If you're lying to me….I'll come back….and your sight won't be the only thing I take."

I release her and begin making my way towards the Jinje Village. Hoping and praying I reach the bald bastard before Bankotsu.

* * *

 **RENKOSTU'S POV**

I exhale allowing the flames to warm me as I ran through one explanation after the other about Yaruki's death. My stomach churns slightly at how Bankotsu could possible react. There was no denying his attraction to her, but perhaps providing a more useful substitution would quell his anger.

I frown. I should have grabbed a whore while I had the chance as a peace offering. If there is even an ounce of actual leadership in that fool, he'll see that I did him a favor by removing such a distraction.

My eyes fall on the fascinating being across from me. Ginkotsu was not much of a talker, something I value greatly, but he could speak. He told me about where he was from and how he had requested to become the way he was.

My eyes scan over his weaponry noting some pieces are a bit dated and others could use some sharpening. I make a mental note to pick up more parts for him after meeting with Bankotsu and entering Jinje.

"~ _Gesh~_ The woman…"

"What about her? She's dead now."

"Was she not a member?"

"No." I say flatly, "just some yujo big brother fancied. She served no real purpose and had no real value. Once big brother sees your potential, he will forget about her."

"~ _Gesh~"_

I look up at the night sky. We were not that far from Jinje village and this cross road is where we agreed to meet once all this is over.

The mission was far shorter than I originally believe, so it maybe some time before Bankotsu arrives.

I look down and over to her bow and quiver shaking my head at the waste.

"Dying in a whore house like the whore she was. Fitting."

Suddenly, something strikes the bridge of my nose with such force that blood pools out instantly. I cover my face and stand, "WHAT THE HELL!?" Ginkotsu rises as well readying his cannon, but I could hear no other sound or movement.

I scan the small clearing scowling at every leaf and trunk. Ripping my hand from my face, I grab my gourd, "SHOW YOUR SELF YOU- GAHH!"

Again something strikes the bridge of my nose in the exact same spot as the first only this time the item was larger bringing far more force that the last.

I fall backwards clutching my face again as my eyes begin to water from the pain, "Fuck!"

Ginkotsu fires in the direction he believes the attacker is hiding in, clearing out a large chunk of the forest. The smoke clears, but still no sign of the coward.

I growl again and stand, "You fucking bastard!"

This time I am stuck in the back of my head, and I collapse forwards on to my knees grasping the spot where it hit me. I see something roll off to the side and turn.

Rocks?….ROCKS! They were throwing rocks at me!

My body trembles from a mixture of rage and irritation at such a childish move.

"You don't look to good Renkotsu. What on Earth happened?"

My blood runs cold at the mock concern in her voice and slowly I turn my head forwards to see her.

She stood in the clearing made by Ginkotsu. Her body and face streaked heavily with blood, but I doubt that any of it is hers. Her bow is in one hand and her quiver rested peacefully on her back. She gently tosses and catches a decently sized rock in the other hand. A pile of rocks, all increasing in size, rest at her feet. The one in her hand being the current smallest.

My eyes glance over to where her bow and quiver once were to see if it was a mere trick of the eyes, but no, they were gone, and I didn't even see her take them.

Ginkotsu aims his cannon at her.

She catches the rock and holds up one finger, "Stay out of this, Metal Man. My quarrel is not with you."

He glares at her and grabs hold of his cannon cord.

She scowls and immediately throws the rock in her hand at him. It lodges itself deep in to the barrel of his cannon. "Fire and you explode." She says darkly before picking up a larger rock and proceeding to toss it up in the air again.

"Now then, Renkotsu. Let's play a game. You have three chances to tell me why Bankotsu keeps me around. For each guess you get wrong," she catches the rock again, "You get another rock to the face. Get all three wrong, and the rock will _magically_ transform in to an arrow. Get it right, and you might just live."

She glares at me,

" ** _Might_** being the key word."

I stand, "Your purpose….is to be a fucking whore-"

The rock strikes in the same spot as its first two predecessors knocking me completely to my back. By this point, the lower half of my face is drenched in blood and my body trembles from the searing pain.

"Just so you know," she begins, "I'm counting that answer as two. You got **_one_** fucking more. So I suggest you take this seriously and use that fucking brain you value so damn much."

I sit up and open my mouth to speak, but stop.

Three times.

Three times she's struck me in the same spot without fail.

At night.

With only a campfire as any source of light.

I look over to Ginkostu. She even managed to jam his cannon.

I glare up at her, "Your aim." I say bitterly.

She smiles brightly, "~Ding Ding Ding!~ That's right. My _fucking_ aim, and to be honest," She resumes tossing and catching the rock, "since I've been with Bankotsu…Its. Only. Gotten. Better."

I shield my face and stand.

"Now, round two. Give me **_ONE. FUCKING. REASON_** why I should keep you alive. And do remember that you wasted a guess earlier, so you still only have one left."

I swallow annoyed at how I let such a child best me, but, for some reason, I could not stop shaking.

I settle that it was merely the pain pulsing through my face. I'll be damned if I ever admit she was terrifying.

I glance around trying to find something that would turn this to my favor, but nothing I thought of or saw worked.

If her aim is as good as I am beginning to believe, risking any sort of attack on her by either me or Ginkotsu would merely force her back into hiding. And with the bow and quiver in her possession, that would be a very dangerous situation.

I growl realizing that she left me with no other option but to play her stupid little game.

…One reason to keep me alive….Bankotsu.

It had to be Bankotsu.

I look up to her and open my mouth to speak but stop when I look in to her eyes. Despite the calm expression on her face, her violet eyes gave off a different sort of energy. A darker one than any I've seen from her before. Fueled purely by rage.

And the answer came to me. The true answer.

"It's a trick question," I begin, "in your mind, there is no reason to keep me alive."

"~Ding! Ding! Ding!~ I guess you aren't as stupid as I thought." She drops the rock.

"Well done, Renkotsu. Would you like to know what you won?" She pulls an arrow from her quiver and loads it…

 _"A quick death."_

She aims the arrow at me and pulls back.

 _"Burn in hell, you fucking piece of shit."_

"~YAAAAARRRRRUUUUUKKKKKIIII~!"

We both freeze at the suddenly cheerful sing song voice.

I hear rustling from behind me, and Yaruki's eyes narrow to mere slits on her face.

I see Bankotsu appear in my peripheral and despite myself, I let out a soft relieved sigh. He steps in front of me, and I could practically hear the smile on his face.

"~Hey! You miss me?"

She doesn't move or speak.

"I gotta admit. This look you got right now. Really doing it for me. You should get pissed off like this more often."

Silence is her only response, and I use this distraction to remove myself from her line of fire. I catch Bankotsu's quick glance in my direction, and Yaruki shifts her aim back on me.

"Hey now, don't tell me a few hours made you lose all interest in me. That kinds hurts." Bankotsu steps forwards and she directs her aim towards him. "There, that's better. Now talk to me." He takes another step towards her, "What 's got you pissed off now, huh?"

She releases her arrow, and he dodges it with ease.

"You really shouldn't waste your arrows like that, Yaruki. Your aim maybe good, but you forget that I'm still pretty fast."

"Fight me." She finally says lowering her bow.

He folds his arms over his chest and contemplates her request. "No." he answers and she glares at him before lifting her bow.

"Fight me! You fucking coward!" She releases another arrow and again he dodges it and closes the distance between them.

"See and that's why I'm not. You're **_too_** pissed off now."

She throws her bow down and scream charges him, pulling what looks like a bloodied cooking knife from her sleeve.

She swings the blade at him with stunning speed, but Bankotsu merely seems slightly impressed. He catches her flailing blade arm, bends her wrist just enough to disarm her, and palms her hard in the center of her chest knocking her flat on her bottom.

He kicks the blade away from them and crouches down to her.

Her body trembles and her breathing is haggard and impossible to control. Her eyes are furious.

"See, you've regressed. All that hard work and you're not even using what I taught you because you're _too_ angry." He shakes his finger at her as if he were scolding a child, "You're fighting with emotions." He lightly taps her temple, "Not with logic"

" ** _DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME!"_** She connects a punch to his face before lunging at him.

I watch the two wrestle for a moment in awe. Yaruki, wild and violent like an animal, and Bankotsu, calm and stoic at first as he deflects a good majority of her strikes, but I could see the growing irritation in his eyes with each hit she does successfully get.

He finally manages to pin her down, and she lets out a scream that could awaken the dead.

"Enough, Yaruki!"

Her scream continues, and he growls in irritation. He snatches her up from the ground to change hold positions so that he could cover her mouth.

She fights against him as she continues to scream.

"Dear god, does she have demon lungs or something?!" Jakotsu cried out blocking his ears.

I watch as he gets her in to another hold position, but in the process places his forearm too close to her mouth.

She bites down through his glove and in the light of the fire, I see that she drew blood.

Reflexively, Bankotsu cries out and punches her in the side of the head with a solid _THWACK!_.

She goes limp.

"Fuck!"

Everything goes still and the only sound is Bankotsu struggling to get Yaruki to let his arm go.

Jakotsu removes his hands from his ears realizing she stopped and rushes over to Bankotsu.

"Shit!" he stumbles back startled.

"What?!"

Jakotsu crawls back towards the two and waves his hand in font of Yaruki's face. He snaps his fingers at her, but she doesn't move.

"Her eyes are open, but I think she's out cold. Scared the crap out of me for a second there"

"Well she's still got a hell of a grip on my arm if she is out. Help me get her off!"

The two struggle for a moment before finally prying the unconscious Yaruki's teeth out of Bankotsu's arm. He pushes her off him and stands gripping and shaking his arm as he fights through the pain.

Jakotsu walks over and gasps as he inspects Bankotsu's arm, "I can't believe she bit you! What is she a fucking dog?!"

Jakotsu makes a move to kick her in the head, but Bankotsu snatches him back with his good arm causing him to fall on his butt.

"Don't!"

"OW!" Jakotsu looks up at him in hurt disbelief, "Bankotsu that hurt!"

"Sorry," he says half-heartedly as he proceeds to help Jakotsu back up, "but don't. She's already out. She won't feel it anyway."

Jakotsu pouts and rubs his sore butt.

Bankotsu steps closer to the fire and takes a minute to inspect his arm properly, gripping and ungripping his hand and flinching slightly at the pain.

"You ok?" Jakotsu asks crouching next to him.

"Yeah, looks worse than it actually is."

The two stay there for a minute before Bankotsu dark cobalt eyes rise to meet mine. He stands and walks over to me.

I fight the urge to step back. I could see the irritation still settled on his face.

"Geez, she did a number on you too, huh?" He asks in a friendly tone, but the force used to grab the back of my neck belies his attempts to put me in to a false sense of comfort. He drags me closer to fire and pushes me down forcing me to be unnecessarily close to the flames, "Yeah," he says darkly as he roughly angles my head to get a better look at my nose, "You must have done something real messed up to get her that pissed, right?"

I say nothing and try to pull away, but he keeps a firm and steady grip on me, despite the wound on his arm.

He is far stronger than I initially believed.

"I mean, I can only assume so since she did this," he flicks the bruised portion of my nose, and I let out a short grunt of pain, "And this." He indicates towards his wounded arm.

"But you know what?" he asks crouching down next to me and pushing my face just a bit closer to the flames.

I clench my eye closed as the heat begins to scorch the blood on my face.

"I'm not even going to bother asking what you did because I think _this_ ," he flicks my nose again, "is punishment enough."

Again, I attempt to pull away, but he keeps me locked in place.

"However, I do think some level of betrayal happened and if there is one thing I can't stand is a _fucking_ traitor." He flicks my nose again to ensure his point is getting across. And it was. Painfully.

"You're not a traitor, are you Renkotsu?"

"N-no, big Brother."

"And you do understand that we are a group…a team….…..hell family if you want to be, right?"

"Y-yes, big Brother."

"And you also understand the Yaruki is a part of this family too…..right?"

"Y-yes, big Brother."

"Good." He yanks me away from the fire, and the sudden coolness of the air stings my face.

Despite being away from the flames, Bankotsu keeps me hunched over so that we were still eye level.

He presses his forehead to mine and smiles warmly, "And just like I won't allow anything bad to happen to any one of you, I expect you not to allow anything bad to happen to _any_ one of us. Am I clear?"

"Yes, big Brother."

He pats the side of my shoulder warmly before releasing me and stepping back, "Glad we could have this talk. Now, let's get cleaned up, yeah?"

I exhale slowly as he begins to walk away, and glare at the back of his head as my body trembles in rage.

The arrogant little punk!

"Oh! Right….right….." He stops and I freeze, "One more thing, Renkotsu."

I swallow hard as I stare at the back of his head, "y-yes, Big Brother?"

"For your sake," he begins, "she better wake up, because if you made me kill my sharp shooter tonight….

 _~You **will** become one of the 1000 humans I promised my Banryuu.~_

* * *

Hope you enjoyed it~ Let me know if you have questions. I was trying to attempt something and I hope I did it well.


	10. Chapter 9

Ok, so I am sorry for the two month long wait. I wrote this in one point of view and hated it, so I rewrote it in Yaruki's POV and then I didn't like the way it flowed so I've spend weeks just tweeking, and I'm sick of looking at this chapter so I am soooooo sorry if I have typos. I tried to catch as many as I could, but again I'm human and I've read this like a bagillion times already.

All Constructive Criticism is accepted and appreciated. Enjoy!

~Stay Caffeinated.

* * *

Chapter 9

 _When I was little, the safest place I could ever be was in my father's lap. To be engulfed by his large arms and soak in his warmth._

 _I especially loved it during the winter nights. He would use my chilled body to cool off after being in front of the kelm for so long._

 _I would snuggle deeper against him, using his heat for my own selfish purposes._

 _He would kiss my head and hug me tight and we would stay like that for most of the night. Feeding off one another's body temperature, listening to other's day._

 _I cling tighter to his top not wanting to move. Not wanting this moment to end. I was a child again._

 _And he was alive._

 _I bury my face in to his chest. I knew this was a dream….but I didn't care. I needed his comfort. I needed this memory._

 _"Ruki…..you have to wake up now."_

 _I cling tighter. Pretending, like I always did, to still be asleep._

 _"My, what a sleepy sleepy Ruki I have." He sings in his usual off key manner, ' I guess I'll just have to eat my breakfast and hers too."_

 _I giggle and he proceeds to kiss the side of my face causing me to giggle harder._

 _"Daddy…"_

 _"I've been called a lot of things, but 'daddy' is definitely a first."_

 _I freeze as a cold hard lump settles in my chest at the voice._

 _It wasn't my father's._

 _Slowly, the memory begins to crack. Large cold lines quickly spread across our room and my father. A chills seeps through them driving out the warmth and familiarity of the moment._

 _I cling tighter to his shirt, to keep him with me longer. Inhaling his scent so as not to forget it._

 _"But since its coming from you, I'll allow it."_

 _The memory completely shatters and I wake._

My eyes open as I come to my senses, and I find myself snuggled against Bankotsu. My body pressed against his side with my right hand clenching the fabric of his top. His arm is draped over me with tendrils of my long hair still gently interlaced in his fingers.

My eyes widen in horror and I look up.

"Well, won't Renkotsu be relieved."

A sharp audible gasp escapes me as I fling myself away from him and on to my bottom. Using my heels, I push myself even further from him as I proceed to wipe myself off as if that would undo time spent next to him.

He watches my theatrics in mild amusement, but I also note a melancholy air that surrounds him which is out of character to his usual state of relaxed arrogance.

It's like seeing a happy energetic puppy be sad and sickly….

I gather my composure before choking down the urge to ask what is wrong and instead mustering up a hard glare, "What the hell were you doing?!"

Bankotsu stares at me for a moment before turning his attention back to the window.

"I put you against the wall originally. _You_ were the one who decided to snuggle and call me daddy." He says simply, and I feel my face flush red from embarrassment and rage.

"I….you…..That's…."

"I didn't do anything." He adds flatly.

Again, I fight the urge to ask him what is wrong and choose to take in my surroundings instead.

"Where am I?" I ask assessing the simple inn room consisting of a few sleeping mats, empty bowls from a past meal, and a few of Renkotsu's items he chose to leave behind.

"Jinje village. You've been out for about a day and a half. I had a maid bathe you and change your clothes in case you were wondering."

I look down to see the tanned yukata, and I clutch it closed as if it would fly open at any moment.

"You had a maid bathe me?" I ask suspiciously and he turns to look at me.

"Would you have preferred I did it or are you asking because you don't believe me?"

I feel my face flush again and I look away.

I see him shrug from my peripheral, "Doesn't matter whether you believe me or not. It's not like you can prove either scenario anyway."

"What's wrong with you?" I spit no longer able to fight the curiosity

He doesn't respond, but continues to watch me. Studying me.

We sit in silence examining the other, and my eyes fall to his bandaged forearm. My brows furrow as fragmented visions of a fight appear before my eyes.

Did…..did I bite him?...

"Have you ever been kissed before?"

The question catches me off guard and I stare at him. His face remains unreadable as his cobalt eyes continue to study me.

"U-uh…" it takes me a minute to gather myself, "W-wh…what?!"

"Have you ever been kissed?" He tilts his head slightly, "You know, by a man not related to you."

I scowl, "And what business if that of yours?"

He rises, and I back away until my back hits the wall. He kneels down in front of me and rest the palm of his hand against the wall next to my head.

"Answer the question, Yaruki."

"Why should I? Why do you even care whether I have or I haven't?"

My eyes widen as he leans in closer to me, "What would you do if I were to take your first kiss right now?"

I feel my body tense as my eyes narrow at him, "I never said I haven't been kissed before."

"But you didn't say that you have either."

"Because ITS. NONE. OF. YOUR. DAMN. BUSINESS."

For the first time since I woke, he cracks a smile, "So then it doesn't matter at all if I were to kiss you now, right?"

My face deadpans, "Stop joking and move."

His hand goes from the wall to my face, and he tilts it upwards towards him, "I'm not joking."

He leans closer to me angling my chin so our lips align. A sudden and intense warmth flushes across my face, down my throat, and spreads out over my chest as he inches closer. His warm breath smelled of sake and his hand slides upwards cupping my cheek.

He is so close.

My eyes frantically scan his face once again noticing the absolute and unfair flawlessness of it. Thick eyebrows, large eyes that could be both youthful and innocent, but also vicious and evil depending on his mood.

I should be moving. I should be pushing him away.

My face twitches in shock at this sudden internal struggle within me. I wanted to move….but I wanted to stay. Out of sheer curiosity, a part of me wanted to stay.

….To see….

….To…taste…

"No!"

I slam my hands in his face shoving him away from me with great force.

 _This man is a murder. A beautiful manipulative fucking monster._ I close my eyes shaking my head. _I…..I hate him…._

 _I hate him_! I run a hand through my hair. What is wrong with me?

I tuck my knees closer to me as my eyes finally look towards Bankotsu who remains on his back looking up at the ceiling. After a few moments of silence, he begins to laugh. Nothing hysterical, just a steady stream of chuckles.

I move a bit further away, eyeing him suspiciously. "What's so funny?"

"You." He says simply running a hand over his face before rising to a seated position bringing one knee up to rest his good forearm on.

"And why am I suddenly so funny?"

He clears his throat as he scratches his forehead underneath his bangs, "I guess funny is the wrong word….more….frustrating…"

I blink a bit taken aback, "FRUSTRATING?! How am **_I_** the frustrating one?!"

He shrugs, "You just are, but I haven't decided if you're doing it on purpose or not."

I look around me for something to throw at him, but finding nothing within reach, I resolve myself to glaring at him. "The only thing I'm doing on purpose is trying to put you six feet under. Anything else is just wishful thinking from that weak mind of yours."

He scoffs," Perhaps, but it's just-" he catches himself before he could finish his sentence and falls quiet. A look shock flashes across his face and I raise an eyebrow.

"It's just what?"

His face contorts in to a look of mild discomfort as his eyes try to focus on something other than me.

To my disbelief, I catch a very faint hint of red color the bridge of his nose.

Is he….is he embarrassed?

He clears his throat while scratching his cheek with an index finger, "It's just….I've never…never really been rejected by a woman before….so it's….frustrating….to say the least."

A hard snort escapes me before I could catch it and his face instantly goes blank save a cold hard glare in his eyes.

I keep my hand clenched over my face and nose as I struggle to choke down my laughter. I try a series of coughs to help mask the giggles, but eventually the pressure becomes too great and it all comes flooding from my mouth.

"It's not that funny." He mutters as I continue to clutch my sides and steady my breathing.

"Oh, but it is." I say between gasps, "Poor, poor Bankotsu. He can't stand the idea that there is a woman in this world who won't completely shed her clothes at the mere sight of him." Another fit of laughter escapes me.

"How about I pretend to swoon?" I say between laughs, "Would that make you feel any better?"

I press the back of my hand against my forehead and dramatically fall to the floor as I finish my sentence. My laughter intensifying.

A low annoyed growl is my only warning before he yanks me towards him by my ankle. My laughter sputters to complete silence as I stare up at him. His hands rest on either side of my head. The inside of his legs pressing the outside of mine together keeping them firmly closed and locked in place.

"You never answered my question." He says casually ignoring the questionable position he had me in.

I frown, "And that was?"

"Have you ever been kissed?"

I sigh realizing he would not let the topic go without an answer that satisfied him. "No." I finally say after a moment of silence, "and I don't plan on kissing **_anyone anytime_** soon."

"And what would you do if I were to steal your first kiss now?"

I scoff, "A first kiss can't be stolen."

He raises an eyebrow, "Is that a challenge?"

"You can kiss me all you want, and I will never acknowledge it as my first kiss. A first kiss is something that is given. Not taken."

He remains silent for a good long while before blinking and shaking his head, "I'm sorry I stopped listening after 'I could kiss you all I wanted'. Did you say something else?

I scowl at him, "I said if you kiss me, I'll rip your tongue out with my teeth. Don't think I won't."

He smiles as he holds up his bandaged arm, "I believe you, but the important part is that I can kiss you all I want."

"I said that to make a point."

"But you said it."

"TO. MAKE. A .POINT."

He stares at me with a stupid grin, "but you said it."

"I will bite your perfect fucking face off I swear I will."

"You think my face is perfect?" He chuckles completely unfazed by my threat as he grabs my arms and pins them above my head before taking his free hand and angling my face away from him to expose my neck.

I struggle against these actions, but my attempts only lead to pain.

Carefully, he begins to plant slow soft kisses along my throat and crook of my neck sending chills through me.

Whether they are good or bad is yet to be determined.

"You know," he says softly against my skin," that wouldn't be the wisest thing to do. Biting me."

I continue my painful attempts to break free as I ignore the tickling sensations of his kisses.

"I'm still in the process of getting your punishment together for biting me the first time."

I freeze feeling the blood drain from my face.

 _Punish?_

I feel him gently nick my neck and against my skin I hear him mutter" …king….orried…."

"Get off me." I whisper darkly and he laughs against my skin.

"Or what?"

I bring my shoulder up blocking any further attempts to kiss me. He lifts up a look of irritation plastered on his face.

We glare at each other for quite some time before he sighs and releases me. Taking full advantage of this opportunity, my hand catapults forwards striking him hard across his cheek.

A light imprint flares against his skin as he stares at me a bit stunned before closing his eyes and rising.

"Come on." He orders flatly as he rest his halberd on his shoulder.

I continue to glare at him as I wipe the hem of my yukata against my neck as if my skin is burning, "And why would I go any fucking where with you?"

He turns to look at me and shrugs, "Alright….we would just stay here and I can finish what I started."

My mouth twitches in disgust as I quickly stand, "Just….just lead the fucking way already."

* * *

My eyes sporadically flick over towards Bankotsu as we travel aimlessly though the village. Villagers hang colorful paper lanterns and signs in preparation for the night's festivities. Some harvest festival or what not. I try not to pay it too much attention. I try not to let it remind me of home.

I sigh as the areas along my neck and collarbone continue to tingle every now and then, forcing me to wipe them again with my hand. I ignore the insane part of me who quietly comments on how nice it felt.

I don't have time for such foolish thoughts.

Despite all the excitement in there air, villagers would still stop sporadically to watch us pass. To whisper softly to the person next to them about us. Some glance back and others openly point as they give us a good bit of space.

My eyes flick back over to the true source of all the attention.

Banktosu seems unfazed, even unaware, of the impact his presence has on the village as he continues to walk. His eyes looking ahead, but he himself is completely lost in thought.

Again, I swallow my curiosity at his strange mood and instead clear my throat to get his attention, "Must you carry that thing everywhere? You couldn't just leave it at the inn?"

He looks over at me confused, "…..Oh! You mean Banryuu?"

"Yes!" I say stepping in front of him, "People are staring."

He looks around for the first time since we left the inn before shrugging, "That's their problem if they can't handle the sight of a man and his sword."

My right eye twitches, "That's not a sword. It's a monstrosity, and you carry it around to intimidate people."

"It's my companion." He says defensively, "You don't really expect me to just leave it lying around do you?"

"What do you even needed it for? It's a village!"

"Who said I needed it for anything? Maybe I just like having Banryuu with me. Plus, there are plenty of dangers in a village. I might have to fight off a strong opponent."

"Who are you going to fight? An old man? A merchant? A baby?"

"Always be prepared, Yaruki." He says giving me a faraway look as if remembering some distant battle with a baby.

I pinch the bridge of my nose trying hard not to punch him in the face before stretching out my hand, "Give it."

A genuine look of shock spread across his face, "What?"

"Hand it over. I'm taking it back to the inn. There's no reason for you to have it. Not here."

"You're joking right?"

I keep a straight face as I continue to stare at him hand still open.

He looks between my hand and my face before letting out a huff of laughter, "You're really serious, huh?"

I give him a slow blink as an answer and he lets out a long sigh as he rubs the back of his neck, "I was going to do this later….when you were stronger…..and somewhere less...public…"

I continue to wait patiently.

He groans as he runs a hand through his bangs, "You're gonna make a big deal out of this, I just know it."

An offended huff escapes me, "Excuse you?!"

"Look, if I say you aren't ready yet, will you let this go? Hell, I'll even take it back to the inn myself if you want."

I stare at him in disbelief, "What the hell do you mean, 'I'm not ready yet?' If I want to hold that stupid sword, you should let me hold it. You own me that!"

"Yaruki-"

"No! NO! Let me hold the sword you killed my father with. I want to see what sort of bullshit he was up against if he had a fair fight!"

"Yaruki-"

"Now, Banktosu! You owe me."

"I owe you nothing." He begins lowly as he steps up to me, "That was a job. I am not sorry for doing it and given the opportunity, I would do it again."

I glare at him.

"But since you wanna be so fucking determined. Fine. You can hold Banryuu….but don't say I didn't try to stop you."

He takes a step back and holds his halberd out in front of me gripping it with only one hand.

I stare at the blade that seemed to float horizontally between us, finally taking in the sheer size of it up close.

This was it. The thing responsible for my life just as it is now.

I reach out, wrapping my fingers around the worn bandaged hilt.

"Both hands." Bankotsu orders and I look up to him before placing my other hand on the hilt as well.

"You know," I say studying the hilt and allowing my eyes to travel to the gleaming blade, "wouldn't it be just awful if I ended up using this to-"

 _He lets go…_

And for that split second, I feel it. The absolute insanity that is the weight of this sword. No amount of muscle tensing could have prepared me for that, and I fall straight to the ground with it.

It lands on its edge before collapsing on to the flat side of its blade crushing my fingers in the process, but I am too stunned to register the pain.

 _How was this possible….how could he even manage such weight…._

My body trembles as I continue to stare at the ground. Visions of him in battle flashing before my eyes. I shake my head refusing to believe it. Refusing to acknowledge that this sword is the same. The ease with which he twirls and spins it over his head during battle…it didn't make sense…..

I blink and grit my teeth as I try to lift it, but it doesn't budge.

"It's a trick." I mutter struggling again to lift it, "It's some sort of trick."

He squats down and grabs the hilt, "No trick. This is Banyruu."

"It can't be this heavy….not…..not with the way you…..you wield it…..you made it heavier!"

"It's a large halberd, Yaruki. There's no-"

"YOU SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO LIFT THIS!"

I look back down to the hilt my breath shaky.

 _There's no possible way…he shouldn't be able to do this….._

He grabs hold of the hilt with one hand and rises, lifting the halberd up in the process and rests it on his shoulder as if it were nothing.

I clinch and unclench my hands as I struggle to understand this.

 _No one should be that strong….no human anyway…no human….._

"You're a demon…..is that it?" I ask my voice still shaky.

He laughs, "Nope! I assure you I am 100% hu-"

I let out a frustrated roar as my punch connects flawlessly across his face catching him completely off guard. He stumbles back but catches himself.

"Shit!"

I charge at him again and he drops Banryuu to the ground before catching and blocking my kicks and punches.

"I knew you'd make a big fucking deal out of this!" He catches both of my arms so I resort to kicking him in his shins, stomping on his feet, kneeing him in the groin, anything I could possible think of.

He dodges all this of course and ends up pinning me to the ground. I scream as I fight against him. "Calm down, Yaruki. You're making a scene."

"FUCK YOU!"

A sharp whistle sounds from behind crowd that gathered to watch our scuffle.

"Stop! Release the woman at once."

The guards surround us swords drawn and pointed at Bankotsu.

"Seriously?"

"Now!"

"She attacked me!"

" Release her immediately!"

Bankotsu lets out what is a mix between a roar and a groan before rising and freeing my hands.

Registering my new found freedom, I rise and charge at him, but a guard snatches me back before I was within range.

The others keep Bankotsu at bay, but I know it's by his choice not theirs.

"You're under arrest."

"For what!?" Bankotsu's enraged eyes never left mine and I struggle against the guard.

 _One more hit. Just one more time._

"Disturbing the peace and attacking this young woman."

He lets out a hard bitter laugh, "So we're just going to ignore the fact that she came at me and attacked me, and is still trying by the way."

The guard shifts his grip to around my waist as I struggle to break free; kicking the air where his face would be if only I were a little bit closer.

"Then you're both under arrest."

"I really don't have time for this." Bankotsu mutters before directing his attention towards me. "You know, Yaruki. There's a lot of innocent people around us right now. Do you really want to fight me right now….right here…..if so, I'd be more than happy to clear the field for us."

"Is that a threat?!" The guards press their blades harder against his throat, but his eyes stay locked on me.

I glare at him my rage slipping away at his implication. I steady my labored breath, and shake my head, "You're such a fucking coward!" I spit after a moment of silence and he flashes me a smirk.

"It's up to you. I can easily remove all these distractions just say the word.

My face contorts in to one of disgust as I try to compose myself, "We're sorry." I begin looking over to the guards, "It's all my fault. I got upset and lost my temper. We didn't mean to cause such a scene."

"Regardless of the altercation, that doesn't explain why he has come in to this village so heavy armed."

I close my eyes forcing my brain to quickly come up with an explanation, "He's….uh….samurai…..we were just passing through. He wasn't going to use the sword….I make sure of that."

"And who are you?"

"I…I'm…..uh"

"My wife."

I let out an involuntary groan as I choke down the vomit that shot up from the pit of my stomach causing me to fall into an intense coughing fit.

"I find it hard to believe one so young is a samurai."

"What can I say, I'm good at my job and thoroughly enjoy what I do. Isn't that right, dear?"

I force a smile on my face as I look up at the guards, "He's average….at best…" my eyes fall on him, "in _everything_."

His smirk falters ever so slightly and I direct my attention back to the guards, "So you see, we really are sorry for all the commotion. You know how it is with us…people…..who happened to be-"

"Married" Bankotsu chimes.

"Joined!….together…..by

"Marriage.

"CHOICE!...….willingly…..not forced at all." I exhale, "Just a little loughhhhh…." I cover my mouth and clear my throat, "A louuuughhh." I press my hand to my mouth again trying to fight back the vomit, "…We were having a louuuuughhh-"

Bankotsu cracks a smile, "Come on, you can say it."

"Mmmmhmmm, no, no I can't." I shake my head, "We were having a quarrel….you know…that people have…."

"A lover's quarrel?"

I snap my fingers and point towards the voice in the crowd, " _THAT!_ Yep, that, that right there. That's what we had. Yep."

"Because we're lovers." Banktosu says with a smile.

"We sure are people, yep." I say nodding my head and crossing my arm, "Whole people…who….who people….. and do people things….like quarreling…. Because we're-"

"Lovers"

"People! Exactly." I nod my head trying hard to resist the urge to run over to him and kick him in the face.

"So…..no need for arresting….or violence….we…..we'll just….keep it behind closed doors next time." I give off a weak laugh.

The guards looks towards one another before sheathing their swords. The guard from earlier hesitates before letting me go.

"Keep your personal problems out of the streets." The general says

"Yes, sir." I bow, "Sorry, again." The general doesn't move and I glance up at him and then over to see Bankotsu next to me, upright with Banryuu on his shoulder, staring defiantly at the general.

I let out a forced laugh as I struggle to get Bankotsu to bow. He fights back and the best I can get him to do is bend his head down.

"Young samurais, am I right?!" I say with another forced laugh.

The general huffs, "You've got a lot left to learn about the world, boy. I'd suggest you start with learning to showing proper respect before you make this pretty young wife, a widow."

"I'd love to see you fucking try."

"What?!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" I slap my hand over Bankotsu's mouth, "Oh WOW! IS that dumplings I smell?! AHHH, I could really go for some warm dumplings! They are just…just great….let's go!"

I grab Bankotsu's arm and drag him away from the fuming general and through the dispersing crowd.

* * *

I stare out at the swirl of purple and orange in the evening say trying to wrap my mind around just how strong Bankotsu is.

The idea that he could wield that halberd with such ease sends chills down my spine. _Was he just toying with me this whole time? Knowing what I know now….was it even possible to kill him? Am I just wasting my time?_

I rest my head against the wall behind me and close my eyes, _"What am I going to do?"_

A sudden warm meaty smell fills my nose and I open my eyes to see a steaming warm bun in front of my face. I glare past the bun and to its holder.

"I don't want it." I spit, but my stomach immediately and without shame, calls my bluff. He flashes an arrogant smirk at me and I snatch the bun from his hands before turning my body to the said so I couldn't see his stupid face.

"Oh, God!" I moan biting into the bun again and savoring the juicy pork within. _When was the last time I ate?!_

I devour the poor bun within seconds- ignoring how the meat scalds my tongue-cramming the dough within my cheeks and carefully grinding it down to more swallow safe sizes.

"I figured you'd be hungry, so I got you two."

I stop chewing and peer over my shoulder to the other bun resting in the palm of his hand.

Before I knew it, I was working on my second bun all while trying to chew down my first.

"You're gonna choke if you keep that up."

"Let me die in peace!" I muffle as bits of dough and juice fly from my mouth.

"Sexy…" he mutters sarcastically.

I ignore him and choke down the rest of the buns before resting my head against the wall sighing in content.

"If you're this exhausted after eating buns, I wonder how you are after other more strenuous activities, wife."

He places a hand over my head as he leans in closer to me.

"Get. Away. From me!"

"Oh I see how it is. Use me for my delicious buns and then throw me away, huh?"

I bite the inside of my cheeks to keep myself from smiling, "You're a demon."

"Am I?"

He rotates me so that my back is on the wall and I face him fully.

"You must be! There's no other way you could possible lift that sword of yours like you do."

"Or maybe….and this is a long shot, I know, but maybe I'm just that strong."

"Bullshit."

I stare him down, "No human could possibly-"

"I can. Accept it. There are no tricks. I'm not a demon. I AM THAT STRONG. Why do you think I always spar with you hand to hand? If I wanted to, I could kill you right now. I **_can_** kill you whenever I please. I _choose_ to keep you around. You don't really think your here with us because your strength has kept you alive," his hand finds his way to my throat and he pins me to the wall. His grip tightens and my nails dig in to his flesh, "You're here because **_I want you here_. **You're alive because **_I want you alive_**."

He steps closer to me and leans towards my ear,

" _YOU. BELONG. TO. ME._

I own you. Do you understand that? Everything you do, you're able to do because **_I let you_**. But there are **_lines_** that you do not cross. And the other night, you crossed one. Honestly, I blame myself…for not punishing you sooner, so starting now you're going to receive a punishment every time you cross a line, do you understand?"

"Go….Fuck…..yourself…."

A blade suddenly appears next to Bankotsu's neck.

"Let. Her. Go." A raspy voice commands.

My eyes fall to one of the guards from earlier. Jagged scars cut across what would be- and still kind of is- a handsome face and across his throat. His sandy brown hair cut short, his skin tanned from being in the sun.

A nagging feeling of familiarity struck me…but I couldn't pinpoint from where.

"You guards sure love sticking your nose in other people's business."

"What sort of husband puts his hands on his wife like that?"

"Guess you're pretty boring in bed if you have to ask that question, huh?"

"Move away from her. Now!"

"This is the second time today someone's put a blade to my throat." Bankotsu looks down to me, "Once I _may_ be able to let it slide, but twice?"

I see his eyes narrow and take on that same gleeful murderous look that appears right before his bloodlust triggers. My eyes glance over to banryuu resting next to us before moving back towards him.

"Leave us alone." I say softly, never taking my eyes off Bankotsu.

"What?!"

"I'm fine. Just…..just leave us alone. We aren't causing any trouble. Lower you sword…..please."

"You should listen to her. Once I get started, there really is no stopping me."

"If he's hurting you, just say so."

"Will you go away!?" I spit, "What occurs between us is none of your damn business."

A hurt look flashes over the guards face before a blank look takes over. He nods and sheaths his sword.

"Sorry to disturb you."

I watch as the guard walks away and let out a slow exhale of relief.

"My point exactly."

My eyes land back to Bankotsu.

"What is?"

"If I truly wanted to, I could have killed that guard and there would have been nothing you could do to stop me…..but it's cute…..watching you try and all. Stupid….but cute."

"You will not hurt a single person in this village, do you understand?"

Bankotsu laughs, "We'll just have to wait and see about that, won't we?"

He grabs my arm, hoists Banryuu on his shoulder, and proceeds to drag me off down the road.

* * *

I close my eyes allowing the sounds of the festival to deafen me as they all whirl past; kids running, adults laughing, vendors shouting out goods, the savory and sweet smells of food, the warmth of cooking fires. And for a moment, I was back home.

I could feel Kiku interlace her arm with mine as she dragged me through crowded streets from one vendor to the next. We would laugh and giggle as we tried out the different wares, sign our names on charms for prosperity, protection, or marriage; gorge ourselves on every sweet and savory thing we could afford, buy matching hair pins like we did every year to commemorate the night…

I open my eyes and the vision fades leaving me lonely, but not alone. I tighten the grip on my bow.

 _'Five'_

Bankotsu's voice echoes in my head as a vision of him holding up an open palm to my face.

 _'A mother, a father, a little boy, a little girl, and an elder. All different people._

I feel my body shake at his words.

 _'Five lives. That's the cost for us to leave here without burning it to the ground.'_

I feel my stomach churn at his 'punishment' for me.

 _'Feel free to refuse by the way. We've been itching for some fun anyway, but I'd have to come up with a new punishment for you afterwards._

 _Something far worse.'_

My eyes scan the streets landing on Jakotsu at a fan stand as if trying to decide what to buy and then to Renkotsu at a charms vendor. Most likely playing the role of a monk again.

Both there to ensure I do as I am told, although I am certain Bankotsu has an excellent view somewhere out of sight with Genkotsu at his side.

The fucking bastard.

My eyes fall back to the villagers. Just five….five people for the sake of a whole village….was that even a fair exchange?

I take a few more minutes to scan the crowd before I settle on my five:

 _~A mother laughing as she lifts her toddler girl towards one of the glowing lamps_

 _~A father carrying his son on his shoulders as the boy rambles about all that he has seen that night._

 _~A little girl bouncing excitedly as what appears to be her older sister hands her a new paper doll._

 _~A little homeless boy eyeing the hot buns and waiting for their vendor to become distracted with paying customers._

 _~An elderly couple holding hands as they make their way down the street. Laughing and reminiscing on their younger years._

I had to be quick.

I had to be accurate.

Just five….

They would die regardless.

At least this way, their deaths would mean something…

Right?...

I watch the mother for just a moment longer. Waiting…..Hoping…..

Finally, she does it. She brings her little girl close to her again and kisses her forehead causing the child to giggle.

I let loose my arrow running it through her head and she collapses landing on her little girl.

Someone screams

I turn slightly aiming at the father.

He falls; his son trampled by the stampede of people trying to avoid me.

The homeless boy lands on his side motionless….lifeless. A stolen bun on the ground a few inches from his outstretched hand

No one will mourn for him if I don't.

The sister pulls her lagging younger sibling up and into her arms only to realize my arrow found its way in to the small girl's temple.

She screams. The paper doll crushed under the weight of the people escaping.

The old man refuses to move. Refuses to leave his wife's side. He cries as he takes her hand in his. Kissing it softly.

Out of mercy, I take him out as well. They were one person anyway.

The guard whistle sounds and I drop my bow. My stomach churns and I collapse to my knees and vomit.

A large cold lump lands in the pit of my stomach numbing my body and I double over. A hard sob escapes me.

At least it still hurts…at least I haven't gone numb…..at least I still feel something.

 _Five….five more faces added to my nightmares_

 _Five more spirits to haunt me.'_

I hear the guards scream and Jakotsu dark laughter and can only imagine the sight playing out behind me. But I couldn't move.

My forehead rests on the hard earth and I close my eyes. It is too much. Its too many.

I feel a hand on my back.

"Get up!" The raspy voice says in a panicked whisper, "Get up now, Yaruki. Please."

He tries to lift me, and I try to help, but my limps refuse to obey.

"We need to leave. Yaruki, please."

That voice…..where have I heard that voice.

I try to turn my head. To look up at the stranger, but I hear him gasp.

"He's coming…..I can't…..I can't kill him right now… I'm not strong enough…I'll come back for you…..I promise…..I'll find you again…"

He places a soft kiss along my temple before releasing me. I fall to the side and watch as the guard runs off.

Jakotsu's blade lounges out at him, but it misses. Jakotsu chases after him only to return moments later empty handed and swearing.

"He got away!" he pouts stomping his foot like a child.

A low groan is all I am able to manage, unable to move as this sickness weighs my body down.

Jakotsu lets out a huff of annoyance as he grabs my arm and attempt to yank me upwards, "Oh quit being so sensitive!"

The force of his pull only manages to make my limp body slide forwards on the ground.

"Damnit!"

The sound of footsteps ceases his stream of insults and he drops me to the ground again in a huff, "She won't get up." He says nudging me with his foot.

A firm grip wraps its self around my arm and lifts. After a moment it lets go and I fall back to the ground like a rag doll.

"Really?" Bankotsu asks, "We're doing _this_ now?"

I don't respond.

I don't move.

He sighs and with annoying ease, lifts me up and on to his armored shoulder.

With Banryuu in hand, he turns. "Let's go."

"What?! You said we could have fun with this village?!"

"That was only if she didn't do what she was supposed to do."

"That's not fair! How come she gets to have all the fun! She didn't even enjoy it!"

"You got to kill the guards didn't you?"

"Big Brother!?"

"Don't worry, Jakotsu. There will be plenty of other villages up ahead. I'll even let you pick the next one if we don't have a job first."

Jakotsu is silent for a moment before another huff escapes him, "Fine! But I still don't see why we just can destroy this one."

"I'm a man of my word. She did her end of the deal, so I'll do mine."

My upper body and hair swing slightly at his even steps as the group makes their way out of the village.

"And she did a hell of a job too." I can hear the pride and affection in his voice as he pats my butt.

I try my hardest to force myself to vomit on to his back, but all I could manage is a weak burp.

* * *

Not 100% happy with this one simply because I have stared at it for too long and there are parts that read a bit choppy, but it is what it is because I would be holding this chapter hostage for another two months trying to make it better. On the plus side, Bankotsu has finally claimed her so that's always a good sign...when a psychotic murder wants you as his own...yep...nothing wrong with that... Hope you enjoyed and see you next time!


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